Reign of Phillip II
Before becoming the capital, in 1535, the Madrid area was 72 hectares, increasing to 134 in 1565, only four years after the establishment of the Court in the town. At the end of the reign of Philip II, the town occupied 282 hectares and had about 7590 homes, three times more than in 1563 (2,250), shortly after the appointment of Madrid as capital.
The intense housing activity of this period was not sufficient to meet the demand for housing by courtiers and servants of the Crown. This induced the king to issue the edict known as Regalía de Aposento, through which property owners of more than one floor were forced to give one to a family of the court.
This decree encouraged the development of what became known as casas a la malicia, a kind of home in which the owners, attempting to avoid compliance with the decree, used different solutions (a single storey, excessive compartmentalization of the interior or concealment of the upper floor from view from the roads ...).
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