The support of the Confederation of Tenant Unions for the housing decrees approved by the Government has facilitated the alignment of the left parliamentary partners of the Executive and positions Junts as a decisive force to determine whether the regulatory package with protection measures against evictions and tax benefits is validated.
After the eviction of Maricarmen and the social outbreak it triggered, with camps and protests in the streets to denounce the housing crisis that Spain is going through, the Government opted to push forward two decree laws in the Council of Ministers with the aim of mitigating the situation.
The first decree law includes a wide range of actions, covering everything from tax bonuses and protections against evictions to caps on the purchase of housing by 'vulture' funds and the imposition of a 10% VAT on tourist apartments.
The second decree, promoted by Sumar at the initiative of the Tenant Union, introduces the automatic renewal of rental contracts and obliges the owner to compensate the tenant with twelve monthly payments if they decide to terminate the contract early.
As is the case with any decree law, the rules come into effect the day after their publication in the BOE, but they must be submitted to a vote in Congress within a maximum period of thirty days to decide on their validation or repeal. The Executive has chosen to expedite the timelines, and both texts will be debated this Friday in an extraordinary Plenary, which anticipates intense hours of negotiation with the different groups.
The Sumar decree, doomed to repeal
Various parties have already set their position: PP and Vox have announced that they will vote against both decrees, while Esquerra Republicana (ERC), EH Bildu, Podemos, the BNG, and the Compromís deputy integrated into the Mixed Group, Águeda Micó, have confirmed their support, especially after the approval of the Tenant Union.
The PNV, for its part, has indicated that it will support the decree that incorporates protection against evictions, but will oppose the one that includes the automatic renewal of rental contracts.
This positioning suggests that the decree promoted by Sumar for the renewal of leases will finally be repealed with the opposing votes of PP, Vox, and PNV (175 seats), to which the vote of Junts could be added, a party that has not yet revealed its vote, although it has expressed its outright rejection of the text.
The first decree is at stake for one seat
As for the other decree, the margin for its validation is broader, since, initially, the provisional count places 170 votes against (including Javier Ortega Smith, who left Vox) against 171 in favor.
Neither the deputy of Coalición Canaria (CC), Cristina Valido, nor that of UPN, Alberto Catalán, have revealed what their vote will be. Sources from the Canary formation have indicated to Europa Press that they will hold a meeting this Thursday afternoon to set their position, while UPN has also not closed its criteria, although it usually votes aligned with the PP.
The Government looks to Coalición Canaria and Junts
Junts has also not yet made public the sense of its vote, although it has reiterated its outright rejection of the decree that contemplates the automatic renewal of contracts, whose validation is considered practically ruled out.
Regarding the decree with fiscal measures, the Catalan formation declares itself "worried" and "disappointed" with the content, interpreting that the norm does not prohibit the purchase of housing by 'vulture' funds, one of its central objectives, nor does it offer sufficient protection to families or small property owners.
The leadership of Junts will meet this Thursday to decide its definitive position. If the support of Coalición Canaria for the decree of measures to support affordable housing is finally confirmed, an abstention from Carles Puigdemont's party would be enough to validate the text, as long as there are no errors or absences at the time of the vote.