Why the strike: the reforms that tenants’ unions propose to guarantee the right to housing

As of November 11, 2026, in the sources consulted, there is no record of a constitutional reform on the right to housing currently being processed in the Congress. The proposals found belong to political, academic, and social debate, but no formal procedure has been identified that has reached committee, commission report, or plenary approval. It is important to distinguish them from reforms of housing laws, which do not modify the Constitution.

At what stage are the constitutional proposals?

The conclusion is that they remain in the realm of public proposal, without an identified formal parliamentary phase. It would not be accurate to describe them as pending approval in committee or blocked during the amendment period: those expressions imply an admitted and ongoing constitutional initiative that is not recorded in the sources consulted.

Among the directly related precedents to this proposal are:

• On March 5, 2024, the book The New Fundamental Social Rights. A Proposal for Constitutional Reform was presented in the Constitutional Chamber of the Congress, at an event by the Fundación Alternativas and the Center for Political and Constitutional Studies. Its approach was to constitutionally strengthen several social rights. Holding this event in Congress does not equate to the registration of a parliamentary initiative (book presentation).
• On October 21, 2024, an article published in Demócrata advocated making access to decent housing a true fundamental right, with guarantees superior to the current ones. This is a reform proposal, not a parliamentary procedure (analysis in Demócrata).
• On October 14, 2025, Gabriel Rufián publicly proposed including housing as a fundamental right taking advantage of the constitutional reform proposal on abortion. That statement does not prove the submission of a constitutional reform text (Demócrata, 10/14/2025).
• On November 21, 2025, another opinion piece proposed reforming Article 47 and approving a State Housing Guarantee Law. These are two distinct actions: one constitutional and the other ordinary legislative (opinion piece in Demócrata).

What does the Constitution currently recognize?

Article 47 recognizes the right to enjoy decent and adequate housing, but it is placed among the guiding principles of social and economic policy. This means it guides the actions of public authorities and the development of laws, but it does not enjoy the same guarantees as fundamental rights, such as protection through an amparo appeal. This difference explains the objective of the proposals to constitutionally strengthen it (Article 47 of the Congress).

Do not confuse with legal reforms

Initiatives on housing have been processed through the ordinary legislative route. For example, the proposal to amend Law 12/2023, file 122/000251, was rejected at its consideration on September 15, 2026: the Congress decided not to initiate its processing. It was not a constitutional reform (Congress file).

Additionally, the proposal on urban legal security, urban development, and housing, file 122/000253, expired on October 6, 2026 with the dissolution of the Cortes. It also did not modify the Constitution (publication in the BOE).

In short, there are proposals to constitutionally strengthen housing, but there is no record of an active constitutional reform to which a specific parliamentary phase can be assigned.

Tenants' unions can organize and represent tenants and negotiate agreements with landlords, but they do not have the same legal powers as labor unions. The legislation consulted does not establish collective bargaining for rent equivalent to labor collective agreements: their actions are mainly based on the right of association, representation, and private agreements.

1. They do not negotiate labor collective agreements

The Workers' Statute regulates relationships between workers and employers. Its Articles 85 and 87 link collective bargaining to employment conditions and grant legitimacy to labor representatives and trade unions that meet certain requirements. A relationship between tenant and landlord is not a labor relationship.

Therefore, calling themselves a "union" does not automatically grant the powers of the Organic Law on Trade Union Freedom. Nor does it allow transferring the duty to negotiate from Article 89 of the Statute to rent: there is no general obligation for the landlord to negotiate with these organizations through that route.

2. What they can do as associations

The right of association, developed by the Organic Law 1/2002, allows organizing activities to defend common interests. Within their statutory purposes and with the corresponding representation, these entities can:

• Advise and accompany tenants in their relations with landlords.
• Present joint proposals on rents, renewals, repairs, or other contractual conditions.
• Negotiate agreements for several homes or represented persons, also before the same landlord or company.
• Participate in consultations and formulate housing policy proposals.

Membership should not be confused with unlimited authorization to modify contracts: it must be clear whom the entity represents and what it can agree on their behalf.

3. What value do the agreements have?

A joint agreement can produce contractual obligations, but it does not automatically acquire general effectiveness for all rentals of a company, neighborhood, or city. Its scope depends on who signs it, the representation granted, and how its conditions are incorporated into the affected contracts.

Additionally, it must comply with the Urban Leases Act (LAU). Its Article 6 declares null any stipulations that modify to the detriment of the tenant the protective rules of Title II, except by legal authorization. A private collective agreement does not allow circumventing those guarantees.

Article 13 of the Statute of Self-Employment is also not transferable: its agreements of professional interest specifically refer to economically dependent self-employed workers, not tenants.

4. Mediation and institutional participation

Article 4.5 of the LAU allows agreeing on mediation or arbitration for disputes susceptible to these solutions. The union can accompany or represent the authorizing party, but this function does not automatically make it an impartial mediator or arbitrator.

The Housing Law 12/2023, Article 2.r), recognizes the participation of tenants' associations in public policies. The Order VAU/1022/2025 regulates an Advisory Council with consultative and proposal functions; it does not grant an automatic seat to each union nor the power to impose contractual conditions. In Catalonia, Law 18/2007 also provides for social participation in its advisory council.

In short: they can negotiate collectively in practice and through representation, but cannot impose rental agreements with general effectiveness.

To declare a residential market tensioned zone, Article 18 of the Law 12/2023, of May 24, on the right to housing requires proving problems accessing affordable housing and following a justified procedure with objective data. It is sufficient that one of the two legally provided economic criteria is met; it is not necessary to meet both. However, exceeding a threshold does not produce an automatic declaration: it must be agreed upon by the competent Administration following the established procedures.

1. The two alternative economic criteria

Article 18.3 requires a report justifying, with objective data, a special risk of insufficient supply of affordable housing for the resident population, also considering the formation of new households. This justification must be based on one of these circumstances:

• Economic effort exceeding 30%. The average burden of mortgage or rent costs, plus basic expenses and utilities, must exceed 30% of the average income or average household income. Therefore, it does not measure only rent or mortgage payment, nor is exactly 30% sufficient: the law requires exceeding it.
• Prices growing above the CPI. The purchase or rental price must have recorded, during the five years prior to the declaration, an accumulated growth at least three percentage points higher than the accumulated growth of the consumer price index of the corresponding autonomous community. For example, if that accumulated CPI were 12%, a price increase of 15% would suffice.

2. Prior information and territorial justification

Before declaring the zone, Article 18.2.a requires a preparatory procedure to obtain information about the residential market. Prices of rent and sale of different types of housing, their evolution, and the disposable income of resident households must be analyzed, also over time. These indicators must allow measuring how the economic effort necessary to access decent and adequate housing changes.

To study the distribution of sale prices, homogeneous territorial areas of the residential value maps of the Cadastre can be used. This is a possibility, not an exclusive mandatory source.

The resolution must explain the market deficiencies in meeting the demand for habitual housing at a reasonable price, considering the socioeconomic situation, demographic dynamics, and particularities of the delimited territory.

3. Publicity, competence, and action plan

The declaration requires a public information procedure. The data supporting it must be made available to the public, including studies on the distribution and evolution of population and households, as well as the territorial delimitation according to supply, prices, and types of housing, or other studies that evidence or allow preventing imbalances and socio-spatial segregation.

The decision corresponds to the competent housing Administration, according to its regulations and competencies. The resolution must be communicated to the state body provided for in Article 18.2.c. Additionally, the declaration entails preparing a specific plan with measures to correct imbalances and a development schedule, according to Article 18.4.

4. Duration and extensions

The declaration is valid for three years. It can be extended annually through the same procedure if the circumstances that motivated it persist and the public measures adopted to improve the situation are justified. Article 18.2.d does not set a maximum number of extensions. To apply the law's measures, the competent ministry publishes quarterly the list of declared zones.