The Partido Popular rejected this Tuesday the amendment to the Galicia Housing Law proposed by the PSdeG, which sought to ensure that "all protected housing has permanent protection, without exceptions, and that housing built with public money can never end up on the free market". The initiative did not succeed after receiving the vote against from the popular group.
The bill, defended by Socialist deputy Aitor Bouza and aimed at amending article 60 of the Galician housing regulations, had the support of the BNG and Democracia Ourensana. However, the absolute majority of the PP in the regional Chamber prevented its approval, considering it "unnecessary" and that it "comes too late".
During his intervention, Aitor Bouza argued that building new developments "is necessary" but not enough to guarantee access to housing. "It is not enough to fill a bathtub with water if we remove the stopper and in the end it keeps emptying," the parliamentarian stated, calling for protection not to lapse over the years.
The PSdeG deputy admitted that the Xunta had already amended article 60 through the accompanying law to the budgets. "Denying it would be denying the evidence," he acknowledged, although he described the reform as "insufficient" because, in his view, the second section maintains exceptions to protection. According to what he detailed, "a protection of 30 years is established for the rest of protected housing and of 15 for regional-protection housing intended for rental. And those exempted developments can receive public funds directly or indirectly".
In this context, Bouza asked the popular group whether they can ensure that no protected housing financed with public resources will lose its status due to the mere passage of time. "If the answer is yes, why do they continue to maintain the second section of article 60? And if the answer is no, why are they lying to the public?" he asked from the podium.
The Socialist accused the PP of using the expression "public housing" to create the impression that the entire stock is shielded from speculation, denouncing a "sleight of hand" maneuver. "We are talking about protected housing, in its modalities and in what the standard itself regulates. Therefore, let's not cheat," he warned.
Bouza added that the Xunta only applies permanent protection when there is state funding, since the third point of article 60 refers to State legislation, whose housing plan establishes that indefinite character. "You have to apply permanent protected housing because the state housing plan approved by Pedro Sánchez establishes it, not because you want to," he emphasized.
The PSdeG proposal was also backed by the BNG. Its deputy Alexandra Fernández recalled, like Aitor Bouza, that it was under the bipartite government when public housing came to have permanent qualification, a change that, according to her, "represented a total paradigm" but was "eliminated" when "Feijóo arrived".
"What the PP did here was to leave housing unprotected from speculation, to leave people unprotected from real estate speculation," she stated, defending that "it is time to protect housing forever," "free from speculative pressure".
Fernández also criticized the fact that, every time this issue is discussed in the Parliament of Galicia, the PP responds "with lies" by claiming that "this is not necessary because in Galicia there is already permanent qualification".
The PP argues that the reform is residual and unnecessary
From the Popular ranks, the PPdeG deputy Roberto Rodríguez maintained that "if all that" the PSdeG has to propose on housing matters is "to modify" a precept that "would affect a residual percentage" of the public housing stock, it means that the Socialists "are not even capable of quantifying that things are being done very well".
Rodríguez justified the PP's rejection by ensuring that the PSdeG initiative "is a great lie", since, as he defended, "the reform does not introduce permanent protection of public housing because as of January 1, 2025 all public-promoted housing that the Xunta builds or rehabilitates has permanent qualification".
"They also have the 20,000 protected housing units that are built on the land urbanized by the Xunta, whoever builds them, because they all have permanent qualification," added the Popular parliamentarian, claiming that the regulations already guarantee that protection.
Consequently, the PPdeG deputy insisted that the reform proposed by the Socialists "comes late and is unnecessary". "Moreover, it comes wrapped in lies and hypocrisy", he concluded, thus closing the parliamentary debate on the proposal for the permanent protection of protected housing in Galicia.