The Minimum Living Income is a Social Security benefit for individuals and families who do not reach a minimum income, and on which the number of members that make up the cohabitation unit depends. Many of those who share an apartment or rent a room believe that they are left out, or that their roommates’ income counts in the calculation. María López, a Social Security official, explains that “the important thing here is that you do not form a cohabitation unit with the landlord with whom you supposedly cohabit.”
María López (@maria.proopuestas), who has been a Social Security official since 2019 and prepares opponents of the administrative body, starts, in one of her videos, from a headline that says that the Government grants 733 euros to tenants who rent a room in a shared apartment, as long as they are not relatives of the landlord. “No, it’s not a joke and I’m going to explain it to you perfectly in case you find yourself in this situation,” he responds, although he later clarifies that this figure is not fixed and depends on what was entered the previous year.
Roommates do not form a coexistence unit
The first thing that María clarifies is what a cohabitation unit is: “in general, it is one that is made up of two or more people who live in the same home” and who are united by marriage, de facto partnership or kinship up to the second degree, whether by blood (consanguinity) or political (affinity, such as in-laws or brothers-in-law). “Such as, for example, a child, siblings, grandparents, etc.,” he adds. This is stated in article 6 of Law 19/2021, which regulates the IMV.
Regarding whether living for rent in a room with people who are not family members counts as a cohabitation unit, the official responds that “no, because the regulations specifically establish this situation. It refers to cohabitants without a relationship and is regulated in article 9 of Law 19/2021.”
Now, article 9 asks for something more than not being family members, since only those who are at risk of exclusion can be beneficiaries of the aid. The law requires that it be accredited by a certificate from social services or from a third sector entity registered in the Registry of Social Mediators of the Minimum Living Income.
Furthermore, with some exceptions, anyone who requests it on their own must be at least 23 years old, have been legally resident in Spain for one year and have previously lived outside their parents’ home: two years if they are under 30, with at least 12 months of registration with Social Security during that time, and one if they are over 30.
The contract also counts, since if it gives exclusive use of a room (or another part of the house), that part becomes the home of the person using it. Social Security applied it to families that share a flat with other people in its management criterion 9/2025, of April 24, 2025, where it indicated that if they have that contract, it is enough for them to present it, without the certificate from social services regarding the lack of relationship with the rest. The criterion does not say anything, however, about those who request help on their own or about the risk of exclusion certificate.
When the landlord is a close family member
The case of a landlord who is part of the family is different, because the law sets the limit on the spouse, the common-law partner and relatives up to the second degree. María refers to a landlord who was “a relative up to the second degree of consanguinity” (parents, children, siblings, grandparents or grandchildren). “In this case you would go from being an unrelated cohabitant to becoming a cohabitation unit with the owner,” he warns, “which changes the entire calculation.”
This is so, since, as María explains, Social Security would take into account the income of the entire cohabitation unit, including that of the landlord if he lives in the apartment.
What remains of the 733 euros
“Be careful, because this is where people get the most confused,” María warns about the other half of the headline, the one with the figure. “The Minimum Living Income is not a fixed amount that is given to you in full each month. It is a differential benefit that covers the difference between your income and the guaranteed income.”
The guaranteed income is, in his words, “the minimum with which the law says you should be able to live according to your situation.” For those who request help on their own (the individual beneficiary, even if they share a flat) it is 8,803.20 euros per year in 2026 (the same amount as the non-contributory pension), which spread over twelve months gives the holder 733.60 euros. “Grab a pencil and paper and take notes,” says the official. “That’s what they would give you if you had no income in the previous year. Although, of course, there are exceptions.”
With income, the account goes down, and María shows it with the case of someone who earned 4,000 euros last year: “They are not going to give you the full 8,803.20 euros. They are going to give you the difference between the guaranteed income minus the 4,000 euros that was what you earned during the previous year.” That is, you would have 4,803.20 euros per year left, which between twelve months is “approximately 400 euros per month” (400.27 euros).
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The guaranteed income increases by 22% for the individual beneficiary (article 13.2 of Law 19/2021), up to 894.99 euros per month in 2026, “if you have a disability to a degree equal to or greater than 65%,” María López clarifies.