More youngsters leaving family home to live alone in Spain

Spain's Housing Ministry reported Monday that increasing numbers of people aged between 22 and 30 years old are leaving their family residences to live on their own.

The Ministry said that 196,989 youngsters received the Basic Emancipation Rent (RBE) in 2009, twice as many as in 2008.

The RBE is a monthly grant of 210 Euros per month to help young people set up their own homes. It began to function in January 2008, and 490.9 million euros have since been paid out.

A total of 350,170 people have applied for the RBE since its establishment with different regions of Spain showing different tendencies.

Catalonia and Andaluca are the two Autonomous Communities that have the most beneficiaries, while over 30,000 receive the aid in the Spanish capital Madrid.

There also appears to be a tendency for young women to be more willing to move away from their parents' house before their brothers. Fifty-six percent of recipients are women as opposed to males.

The Ministry of Housing study shows that the average annual income of those who receive the RBE is not high. Thirty-five percent of them earn between 10,000 to 15,000 euros, 24 percent of them earn less that 10,000 euros and 31.4percent between 15,000 and 22,000 euros.

Twenty-nine percent of them pay a monthly rent below 400 euros, 42.9 percent between 400 and 600 euros and less than 30 percent over 600 euroes.

Source: Xinhua