Madrid City Council has approved transferring 19 municipal plots, totaling nearly 200,000 square meters and valued at €87.8 million, to the regional government for new elderly care homes. Led by Isabel Díaz Ayuso, the initiative aims to create 40 public-private residences across the region. Private companies will build and operate the centers for decades under a concession model similar to the one used in concerted education.
The transferred plots span 13 districts of the capital and account for almost half of the sites planned for the project. Information from information obtained by EL PAÍS, the official valuation reflects only the accounting value in the municipal inventory, not the market or cadastral value. The first plot up for tender, on Calle Oslo, is valued by the city at €648,197, while its cadastral value is €2 million. That points to a land package potentially worth significantly more.
Under the plan, the regional government will grant private operators long-term concessions of up to 75 years to build and manage the care homes. The companies will offer public and private places, with most reserved for private clients at market rates. They are also expected to generate additional revenue from services such as parking and cafeterias. The smallest plot measures 4,010 square meters and is valued at €430,231. The largest, in Fuencarral-El Pardo near La Moraleja, spans 20,000 square meters and is valued at €14.1 million.
The city council says it transferred the land at the request of the regional Department of Family, Youth and Social Affairs, as part of the 2024 to 2030 Center Construction Plan. Most plots are unused municipal land and were ceded free of charge. The model, launched in 2019, involves granting 100 public plots for private operation. The sites include care homes and concerted schools, alongside affordable rental housing.
The first contract, for the Calle Oslo site in San Blas-Canillejas, sets the template for the rest. The winning company will manage 80 public places, including 60 residential and 20 day-center places, at a fixed price set by the region. It will also manage 120 private places, comprising 90 residential and 30 day-center places, at market rates. The concession will run for 70 years, with an option to extend it to 75. The operator is expected to earn up to €2 million annually from public places, with further income from private clients and extra services. It will pay no fee to use the public land, since reserving public places is considered compensation.
The project has drawn sharp criticism from opposition parties. Ana Lima of the PSOE says the model favors people with higher pensions and assets, leaving others on waiting lists for public places. She also warns that private operators may cut costs, affecting staff ratios and service quality. Mar Barberán of Más Madrid calls the plan a “scandal” and warns that public assets could be lost and care standards could deteriorate. Both say long-term concessions could undermine the city’s ability to provide quality public care in the future.
Ayuso aims to have all 40 residences operating by 2030. If that timeline holds, the public land transferred in Madrid alone will remain under private management until at least 2097. The debate over using public assets for private profit echoes controversies in other Spanish regions. In Catalonia, for example, authorities have invested heavily to improve vulnerable groups’ access to social benefits, including through Catalonia’s €30 million program to reach families missing out on aid.
Madrid is also pursuing a separate housing option for older residents: cooperative housing, rather than conventional care homes. The city announced the initiative in September 2022, added the model to its Urban Planning Regulations in 2023, and opened a competition in July 2025 for 75-year concessions on municipal land. The first two awards, announced on 19 October 2026, provide for 95 planned homes across 8,687 square meters in Sanchinarro, Hortaleza, and Pueblo Nuevo, Ciudad Lineal. Nonprofit cooperatives will run the projects, which pair private apartments with shared spaces designed for mutual support. These are not publicly funded care-home places.
Cooperative projects also have design and service requirements. At least 50% of homes must be accessible to people with reduced mobility, and buildings must achieve energy rating A. Operators must also provide assistance if residents become dependent. The land concession is free, but residents will still have to pay: cooperative members are expected to make financial contributions. The awards establish planned capacity, not completed homes. Before construction can proceed, the cooperatives must submit designs for approval and obtain building permits.
Spain’s population is aging rapidly, with more than 20% of residents now aged 65 or older. Demand for elderly care is expected to rise sharply in the coming years. The regional care-home plan and the city’s cooperative-housing projects offer different institutional responses. One relies on private operators providing public and market-rate places under long-term concessions; the other grants municipal land to nonprofit cooperatives for collaborative housing. Both raise questions about how public land can support older residents, while their governance and payment arrangements differ. Madrid’s plan could influence similar projects across the country.
