The next Tuesday, September 29, the last deadline that the Government set to advance the new housing decree law in the Council of Ministers expires, after postponing its approval at the end of July due to the lack of sufficient support in Congress.
The draft from the Executive incorporates, among other issues, the automatic extension of rental contracts until 2028, the regulation of seasonal rentals and rooms, the increase of VAT on tourist apartments to 21%, and various actions aimed at expanding the affordable housing stock.
The decree, the result of the agreement between PSOE and Sumar, is structured in two large blocks: on one hand, measures to stabilize rents and tackle fraud, such as the regulation of seasonal contracts and rooms and tax incentives for owners who lower rents; on the other, initiatives to mobilize affordable housing, including the reform of the Land Law. The text also plans to negotiate new tools to protect vulnerable households against evictions.
However, the discrepancies with the groups whose vote is essential have stalled the Executive when it comes to bringing the decree to Parliament.
The President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, admitted at the end of August that some of the measures are "excessive" for Junts and, at the same time, "insufficient" for Sumar. The Minister of Housing, Isabel Rodríguez, has called on the parties for a "generosity effort" and argues that the document incorporates proposals that different groups have put on the table.
Junts insists on focusing the decree on increasing supply and questions the price limits because, in their view, they do not contribute to generating new housing. Among their proposals are tax incentives for owners, such as deducting expenses associated with rent or part of the mortgage payment for small landlords. The Government and Sumar have shown willingness to explore tax incentives for owners, but Junts still does not guarantee their vote.
Sumar, for its part, defends the extension of contracts and a reinforcement of protection for tenants, as well as the regulation of seasonal rentals and rooms and measures on tourist apartments. In recent days, pressure has increased on the PSOE following the eviction of Maricarmen, an 87-year-old woman who had been living in an apartment in Madrid for more than seven decades, and demands effective measures to prevent the eviction of vulnerable people.
The minority partner of the Government has also put on the table the expropriation of Maricarmen's home to incorporate it into the public housing stock and has advocated limiting the purchase of homes by investment funds.
The Minister of Social Rights, Consumption and Agenda 2030, Pablo Bustinduy, demanded on September 16 to bring the decree "now" to Congress even though there was no guaranteed majority and criticized the groups that, he claimed, oppose intervening in the housing market.
Podemos maintains a more distant stance regarding the text. It rejects tax benefits for owners and demands more forceful measures to lower rents, strengthen tenants' rights, and stop evictions without housing alternatives. Its main red line is the reform of the Land Law, which it demands to be removed from the decree and which the party links to a reduction in urban planning controls. The National Confederation of Construction, on the other hand, supports this reform and considers it key to increasing supply.
The PNV, for its part, proposes that the extension of contracts be limited to tenants who are up to date with payments, in addition to demanding a reform of land, regulation of seasonal rentals, and strict respect for regional competencies. ERC has focused its position on vacant housing and requests detailed data on the ownership of these properties, while the PP bets on increasing supply and facilitating land, and has questioned the interventionist approach of the Executive.
The case of Maricarmen has introduced a new element into the negotiation. The Government and Sumar advocate for strengthening protection against evictions, while the PP maintains that the previous anti-eviction decree would not have prevented this eviction due to the characteristics of the affected person's contract. The discussion on evictions thus adds to the existing differences regarding prices, rents, taxation, tourist housing, and land reform.
Outside the parliamentary arc, CCOO and UGT have urged political forces to reach an agreement, while the Confederation of Tenant Unions demands that the new decree incorporate structural measures against evictions, rent freezes, effective extensions, and automatic renewal of contracts. The collective called for mobilizations this Saturday under the slogan "Not one more Maricarmen."
The eviction of Maricarmen "brings positions closer"
In this context, the Government has not clarified whether the decree will finally be addressed this Tuesday in the last Council of Ministers of September, as announced in July. However, Isabel Rodríguez stated on Thursday that the eviction of Maricarmen has "stirred the conscience" of parliamentary groups and "has brought some positions closer that until now had been more distanced."
The minister added that the commitment of the parties is "to be able to approve it as soon as possible." "I know it is not understood," she pointed out while recalling that the Executive could "approve it tomorrow," but that without sufficient support in Congress the decree will not become law and nothing will have been "achieved."
As Rodríguez explained, the royal decree addresses the housing problem "structurally," including evictions, mobilization of vacant housing, construction of public housing, and intervention on tourist apartments, among other aspects, although evictions are "curiously" one of the points where there are more "obstacles" and "differences" in the Lower House.