The 'Padrón' Trap: How Municipal Census Issues Expose Systemic Exclusion in Spain's Regularization

• 1.2 million people applied for extraordinary regularization, but the systemic failure of the 'padrón' (municipal census) is preventing many from accessing their rights.
• Under Spanish law, the padrón is a mandatory administrative registration for residents, not a tool for granting or denying rights, yet many municipalities use it to exclude migrants.
• Rising housing costs have led to an increase in landlords prohibiting tenants from registering, creating illegal 'no padrón' housing markets and even underground trade in registrations.

The Padrón Barrier

• While the government designed the regularization process to be flexible, allowing applicants to forgo the padrón, police often continue to demand it during the biometric data collection process for the Foreigner Identity Card (TIE).
• Activists argue that the padrón should not be an adjustment variable for identity documentation, as it creates an insurmountable hurdle for those in precarious housing situations.

Legal Obligations and Municipal Non-Compliance

• The April 2020 instruction clearly mandates that municipalities must register anyone living within their jurisdiction, regardless of their housing status—including sub-dwellings, caravans, or precarious rentals.
• A report by the ECAS Federation highlights that at least 60 municipalities in Catalonia are violating this obligation, effectively using the registration process as a barrier to exclude vulnerable populations.

Housing Exclusion and Consequences

• Regions with high tourism rates—Catalonia, the Balearic Islands, and the Canary Islands—face the highest rates of housing exclusion in Spain.
• Landlords often fear that registering tenants will lead to the loss of tax deductions, rental subsidies, or social benefits, alongside unfounded myths regarding property occupation.
• Activist groups like RegularizaciónYA are calling for immediate government action to stop the use of the padrón as a hurdle for TIE issuance and demand sanctions against municipalities that refuse to register residents.