The Governing Board has today authorized the multi-year expenditure of four million euros for the new public call for grants – the sixth – of the Adapta Madrid 2025 Plan, as announced by the Deputy Mayor and Municipal Spokesperson, Inma Sanz. This plan from the Housing Policy Area subsidizes actions to adapt housing for people with disabilities and rare diseases, as well as accessibility in premises and common elements of residential buildings in the capital.
Adapta Madrid Plan is pioneering in Spain and has been well received by citizens since its launch in 2020. In fact, in its latest call, applications increased by 72% compared to the previous year. Due to the success of this plan among citizens, the Madrid City Council has invested 21 million euros since 2020, including the four approved today.
In total, in its five editions (2020-2024), 2,600 actions have been carried out. 70% of the works are related to reduced mobility, 12% to visual impairment, and the remaining 18% is distributed among hearing impairment, intellectual disability, or rare diseases.
The main actions carried out include the adaptation of doors or hallways, the adaptation of bathrooms and kitchens, the installation of cranes or platforms, home automation systems, or the adaptation of pavements.
The grants, which are always paid in advance, cover between 40% and 90% of the cost of the work, reaching up to 30,000 euros per dwelling depending on the degree of disability. Concessions are notified individually to each beneficiary, instead of through publication in official bulletins, which are maintained only for publicity and transparency purposes.
In the last call in 2024, the new grant line for the adaptation of portals was well received with 243 applications, becoming the most demanded aid after grants for the adaptation of housing (506).
Improving in Each Call
This plan has been improving in each of its editions thanks to the collaboration of entities in the sector. Madrid has become the first European city to incorporate a specific line for rare diseases in the 2023 Adapta Plan call.
In the first edition of the plan in 2020, the City Council signed a collaboration protocol with the Spanish Committee of Representatives of People with Disabilities (CERMI) to promote the dissemination of grants for adapting housing for people with physical disabilities with reduced mobility or sensory disabilities.
In 2021, as a novelty, aid was extended to other sensory disabilities (hearing, visual…), so it was not only for cases of reduced mobility. In 2022, a line for the adaptation of ground-floor commercial premises in residential buildings was included, and the City Council signed a collaboration protocol with FAMMA-COCEMFE Madrid (Federation of Associations of Persons with Physical and Organic Disabilities of Madrid-Spanish Confederation of Persons with Physical and Organic Disabilities) to promote grants for accessibility works in residential use buildings.
The novelty in 2023 was the inclusion of aid for people with rare diseases, through a collaboration protocol with the Spanish Federation of Rare Diseases (FEDER), and in 2024, a specific grant line for accessibility works in residential building portals was added.
The Housing Policy Area has also created an Easy Guide with accessible communication to inform about this plan. Quick guides and FAQs have been adapted to sign language and easy-to-read language, with the aim of conveying information in a clearer and simpler way to understand, including the possibility of watching videos by a sign language interpreter.
Recognitions for the Adapta Plan
In 2021, FAMMA-COCEMFE Madrid (Federation of Associations of Persons with Physical and Organic Disabilities of the Community of Madrid) awarded the Personal Autonomy Award to the Madrid City Council for the Rehabilita and Adapta plans.
The 2024 edition was awarded in the 1st Call for Transparency and Open Data distinction of the Madrid City Council, for adapting informative guides and FAQs to easy-to-read language and sign language.
In addition, the 2024 Adapta Plan was awarded in the 2024 Solidarity Awards Grupo Social ONCE Community of Madrid, in the category of Public Administration.
And this year, the Mayor received the ONCE Solidarity Award for the Adapta Plan in the Public Administration category. This award is the highest distinction granted by ONCE at the regional level, aimed at recognizing individuals or legal entities for their solidarity work in their environment.
