Sánchez vindicates the Housing Law with the story of Teresa: “They want to make you believe that it doesn’t matter who governs”

Pedro Sánchez has released a new electoral campaign video in which he asserts the importance of housing policies through the story of Teresa, an older woman who has been renting in the same building for nearly four decades. The President of the Government and Secretary General of the PSOE has shared the audiovisual piece on his social networks with a message aimed at those who consider that political decisions have no consequences in their everyday lives: "They want to make you believe that it doesn’t matter who governs this country. But it doesn’t. Ask Teresa."

The publication, accompanied by the hashtags #LaFuerzaDeLaGente and #VotaPSOE, is part of the strategy of the socialists ahead of the general elections on next 29 November. On this occasion, Sánchez places access to housing at the center of his message through an audiovisual narrative of just over two minutes that contrasts the consequences of real estate speculation with the protection that, according to the PSOE, is offered by the application of the Housing Law. The video shows how the protagonist receives a communication informing her that her rent will double after the purchase of the building by an investment fund, a situation that ends up changing when the regional Government begins to apply state legislation.

Teresa, the tenant who has been in her home for almost 40 years and receives a rent increase

The video begins with Teresa, an elderly woman who climbs the stairs of her building accompanied by another woman, while a voice-over introduces her story. The main character has been living in the same home for almost 40 years, where she raised her family and built much of her life. As the announcement explains, during all that time she has not been late even once in paying the rent, but her stability starts to be at risk when the building is sold to an investment fund.

The situation changes with the arrival of a letter. The document, which initially preserves the usual form of address of "Dear Teresa", begins to address her as "Dear tenant" and informs her that, when her contract expires a few months later, she will have to pay double in order to continue living in her home. The protagonist appears visibly worried as she reads the notice, aware of the financial difficulties that would be involved in taking on a rise of that magnitude.

The announcement also introduces the case of Ana, another neighbor of the building who receives a similar communication. Her contract expires earlier and, unable to afford the rent increase, she ends up leaving the building. Shortly afterwards, the images show unknown people entering and leaving with suitcases and an access system that suggests the transformation of the homes into short-stay accommodations. The community of neighbors Teresa knew begins to disappear, while she spends the nights awake wondering how she will be able to pay the new rent.

With this sequence, the PSOE represents the consequences it attributes to certain real estate investment operations, especially when the purchase of residential buildings is accompanied by increases in rents and the replacement of usual homes with tourist accommodations.

The Housing Law changes the outcome of the PSOE electoral video

The turning point comes when the narrator explains that the regional Government begins to apply the Housing Law. From that moment on, Teresa’s situation changes: according to what the announcement says, investment funds can no longer evict tenants like her through a rent duplication, and illegal tourist flats begin to be removed from the market.

The images show how the constant flow of visitors with suitcases disappears and how Teresa receives a new letter. Although at first she is afraid to open it, she discovers that her rent won’t be doubled and that she will be able to remain in her home. The ending also restores the building’s community life: the lower flat is once again occupied by neighbors, rather than temporary visitors.

The message thus uses a personal story to illustrate the consequences that the PSOE attributes to the implementation of public housing policies. The piece does not identify the municipality or the autonomous community where the story takes place, nor does it provide documentation that would allow independent verification of whether Teresa represents a real case or a recreation of situations that affect tenants.

The distinction is relevant because the Housing Law does not establish a general and identical ban on rent increases throughout the entire national territory. Some of its measures depend on the declaration of areas of stressed residential market and on the actions of the competent administrations. Likewise, the withdrawal of illegal tourist housing requires applying the corresponding regulations and carrying out the established control procedures.

Sánchez makes housing one of the central messages of his campaign

The video concludes with Pedro Sánchez looking directly into the camera and rejecting the idea that all governments are the same. The final line summarizes the campaign’s argument: "They want to make you believe it doesn’t matter who governs. It doesn’t make any difference". Next, the image returns to Teresa, sitting calmly on the sofa in her home, accompanied by the message "Ask Teresa".

The publication arrives in the middle of an election campaign and after the Government has pushed new measures related to housing. In October, the Executive approved a package of provisions to strengthen the protection of tenants, regulate seasonal rentals and rooms, and increase obligations regarding certain housing intended for tourist use. Part of those measures was ratified on 12 November by the Permanent Delegation of the Congress, while other provisions regarding the duration and stability of contracts have continued with a separate processing. 

The PSOE seeks to bring that legislative debate to the day-to-day experience of citizens. Rather than focusing the announcement on construction figures, prices, or public budgets, the campaign uses a tenant’s fear of losing the home in which she has spent much of her life to argue that government decisions have concrete consequences.

The strategy also indirectly shifts the focus to the autonomous communities, which have relevant powers in housing matters and whose actions condition the implementation of some tools provided for in state legislation. The Law 12/2023, on the right to housing provides that the competent administrations may declare areas of stressed residential market, a decisive decision for applying certain limits to the rents of new contracts.

"The strength of the people", the slogan with which Sánchez seeks to mobilize the electorate

The publication falls within the socialist campaign under the slogan "The strength of the people", with which the party intends to link its governing action to the needs of citizens. The message shared by Sánchez does not expressly mention Alberto Núñez Feijóo or Santiago Abascal, but sets up a contrast between different ways of governing and argues that tenant protection depends on the political decisions adopted.

Housing is one of the main issues in the electoral debate, shaped by the rising cost of rentals, young people’s difficulties in accessing housing, and disagreements between administrations over intervention in the real estate market. Against those who advocate for greater liberalization of supply, the socialist Government calls for rent regulation and measures aimed at limiting certain speculative practices.

In this context, Teresa becomes the face chosen by the PSOE to represent the tenants who fear losing their home due to a rent increase. The announcement presents a recognizable conflict, a change in public policies, and a favorable outcome for the protagonist, although it does not provide enough information to consider it established that this sequence has happened exactly as shown on screen.

With this new video, Sánchez takes the electoral dispute into the realm of housing and uses Teresa’s story to insist on an idea: that the outcome of the elections also determines the scope of the policies that protect citizens against rent increases.