Approved measures to facilitate access to the Minimum Living Income for homeless people and other vulnerable groups

Eliminates the limit of owners in the same home
It is possible for certain complex situations to be accredited to be certified by social services and by IMV collaborating entities.

At its last meeting, the Council of Ministers approved a Royal Decree Law that includes measures to facilitate access to the Minimum Living Income for vulnerable people. The Ministry of Inclusion, Social Security and Migration has proposed these measures after a first evaluation of the scope of the benefit and after having held meetings with third sector entities, which have analyzed access difficulties.

Specifically, the first of the measures is intended to facilitate access for homeless people. The new rule eliminates the limit of owners per home for people who are homeless or who reside in non-permanent residential centers, in addition to recognizing the reality of people in vulnerable situations who are grouped together in the same home.

In addition, the concept of an independent coexistence unit (nuclear family) has been introduced in cases of gender violence, divorce or separation, as well as those affected by eviction or uninhabitability to allow access to the benefit. The last two have a time limit (the consideration will expire in the third year) so that an unexpected situation does not influence the right to IMV.

Finally, it is also possible that in other complex coexistence situations the accreditation of the coexistence unit can be certified by the social services, collaborating entities of the IMV and the third social sector subsidiary and temporarily.

This solution is similar to that proposed by many autonomous communities when accrediting cohabitation units to access their minimum income programs.

Third sector entities can be social mediators of the IMV if they register in the register of social mediators and meet a series of requirements, such as having direct service points for people in all the autonomies and autonomous cities, as well as a Accredited experience in supporting and assisting people at risk of social exclusion, particularly in supporting them with the Minimum Living Income.

Both social services and mediating entities may accredit situations such as people at risk of social exclusion for people who live together without ties or those who are registered in a “fictitious domicile” (homeless people).

The Minimum Living Income, created in May 2020 through Royal Decree Law 20/2020, was recognized in its first six months of operation to almost 160,000 homes in which more than 460,000 people lived. Of them, 47% were minors.