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Programme of house renting for Immigrants

  Introduction:

The profile of the immigrant in Aragón is the following: young people, workers in the agriculture sector (29,3%), construction (13,5%) and industry (13,5%). The woman's profile is the following: 42% of immigrants with work permit develop tasks in houseworking services.

With reference to the origin country, the African have pre-eminence (47%). In Spain this percentage is 29,18%.

The foreigners' establishment in Aragon is featured by a high concentration in the city of Zaragoza. Nowadays, it's observed an increase of the immigrants' establishment in heads of rural areas and little cities where there are initiatives to fix population.

  Description of the problem:

One of the most common problems the immigrant deals with, is the difficulty to access to hire a house, because there is a repulse by the owners to put them at the disposal of this collective, sometimes due to ignorance and fear of non-payments and problems that can be generated in the community socializing.

  Description of the solution:

The programme "House renting for immigrants" offers a set of services and aids to contribute to solve the problems the immigrants usually find to access a housing.

This programme foresees the following actions:

- Management of a houses for renting Exchange. UGT carries out a monitoring of the houses that are hired from the programme. The programme works with owners to eliminate fears and prejudices.

- Possible tenants' Exchange.

- Opening of individualised dossiers with all the housing needs that the immigrants have, and the means each one has to tackle them. It's made an individualised analysis of the personal and economic situation that constitute a pre-guarantee for the future payment of the rent agreed (to have regular incomes, a salary…).

- All the managements referred to the rent, the registers, contract legalisation, putting in the phone, gas, water and light… free of charges.

- It's guaranteed the legality of the contracts.

- Mediation between the owner and the tenant during the first year. This mediation is done with immigrants contracted from the programme.

-Opening of a house insurance with charge to the programme during the first year of renting.

-Field work for the searching of houses for renting.

-Voluntaries' collaboration.

-Internal diffusion in the organisation.

-Co-ordination with the rest of the programmes on the Social Action Area of UGT for the searching of solutions to other trouble that immigrants have, different of housing. (economical, social, education…)

-Training of mediators in the social, legal and housing fields.

  Impact and results:

The number of immigrants that have accessed to a housing through the programme have been 40 in the year 2001.

We consider this programme a good practice because gives an answer fitted to a real need.

 

 

  Practical considerations :

The cost of the project in 2001 has been 85141 Eur.

The financing sources of the project are, the City Council of Zaragoza and UGT

The staff needed to carry out the project are: 1 technician medium level, and 3 intercultural mediators.

IF YOU WISH ANY FURTHER INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT TO:

UGT Aragón.

Calle Costa, 1-3ô planta.
50001 Zaragoza
Tels. 976 70 01 00 - 976 70 01 10
Fax. 976 70 01 01
ugt@aragon.ugt.org