Rush By Young to Claim Housing Grant Crashes Spanish Websites

Concern over the financial problems confronting young people in Spain deepened yesterday after it emerged that more than 200,000 applied for a new housing grant within hours of it coming into force.

So great was demand for the new state handout that two government-supported websites crashed within two days of the law coming into effect on Wednesday as they were inundated with requests.

The grants are part of a drive to assist young people who want to leave their family homes. Surveys consistently show millions still live with their parents. In a 2001 census, 35% of 30-year-olds were still living at home, more than twice the number of two decades earlier.

The grants are aimed at people aged between 22 and 30, who earn less than €22,000 a year and live in rented accommodation. Worth €210 each month, they are paid out for each flat rather than to an individual, meaning that the more people living together - as is often the case with young university graduates - the less they each receive.

"Flats in Madrid are so expensive that we regularly have problems at the end of each month," said Sergio, 27, a graduate sharing with three others in a flat in Madrid. "And Madrid is much more expensive than other cities. Perhaps it would be fairer if they took into account the cost of living in each city rather than have a general rate for all of Spain."

So common is the problem of stay-at-home adults that a term has been coined to describe an entire generation who do not earn enough to live independently. The mileuristas have a university degree, often a postgraduate qualification and speak at least one foreign language, but find it impossible to get a job that allows them to put any money aside each month, let alone buy a flat. Earning around €1,000 a month (hence the term - mil means 1,000 in Spanish), they are often forced to return to live with their parents.

A spokesman for the ministry of housing said yesterday that, although the websites were running again, the demand showed just how concerned young people were about their finances.

"When youngsters don't leave home, it is normally because of the high costs of renting," he said.

The economy will play a crucial role in the forthcoming elections, set for March 9, as the housing boom slows and unemployment figures rise as workers are forced off building sites.