Spain's interim lower house of parliament on Thursday ratified housing measures designed to limit evictions and real estate speculation, a day after a general strike and major street protests over the country's housing cost crunch. The duration of the approved measures, however, will likely depend on the outcome of a national election set for Nov. 29.
The measures followed months of public anger over soaring rents, which erupted after the nationally televised eviction and subsequent death of an 87-year-old woman in Madrid. The government first tried to push the package through in October, but the conservative Popular Party and other conservative parties aligned in parliament to reject it, and Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez responded days later by calling an early election. The government then waited to retry with a smaller interim parliament of 69 members, compared with 350 in the regular parliament, where it and aligned progressive parties had a slightly more favorable distribution of seats.S1S3
To improve its chances, the government split the measures into two decrees so that a measure that appeared doomed from the start would not endanger the rest. The first decree passed 35-34, while the second was, as expected, rejected again. The passed decree extends eviction protections until 2030 for tenants deemed by social services to be in a precarious financial or social position, as long as regional authorities cannot offer them an alternative residence.S1S3
The decree also seeks to curb real estate speculation by preventing any company involved in the real estate market from buying properties for less than 70% of their value, a step meant to stop wholesale purchases at low prices followed by resale at higher prices. It halts rent increases for rents that already exceed the government's neighborhood reference price, imposes a 10% tax on apartments rented to tourists, such as those listed on online platforms like Airbnb, and offers a tax incentive to encourage leasing along with government-backed loans for down payments on residential homes.S1S3
The rejected second decree would have made residential leases automatically renewable at the tenant's option, requiring owners who wanted to break contracts to compensate tenants with a year's rent. Lawmakers deemed that measure likely to push homeowners to withdraw properties from the rental market. Interim Housing Minister Isabel Rodríguez said the protests had won the right to housing on the street and in workplaces, and she hoped it would win again at the ballot box. The Popular Party has said it will repeal the government's housing measures if it takes power, which polls indicate is a real possibility.S1S3
