MADRID, Spain – The government has announced that it approved two housing decrees on Tuesday, one containing measures such as halting evictions until 31 December 2030 and extending rental contracts ending before 2029 by up to two years, which would a priori have the backing of Junts, and another including the establishment of indefinite contracts that stirs more reluctance among conservative forces. Congress has heeded the government’s request for an extraordinary plenary session this Friday to try to have both decrees ratified immediately.
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The PSOE and Sumar pushed negotiations over the so-called Maricarmen decree to the limit, even delaying Monday’s Council of Ministers meeting by an hour. The formula to bridge differences between the two sides was finally to approve not one but two texts, splitting off from the rest of the measures the automatic renewal of rentals so that contracts become indefinite, the inclusion of which had been one of the great stumbling blocks in the negotiations. It was one of the demands of the Tenants’ Union and the parties to the left of the PSOE, along with freezing rents, regulating seasonal and room rentals and banning evictions without a housing alternative. It is in the other decree that the bulk of these demands are included, with government sources indicating that this text covers protection against evictions and a ban on hedge funds buying housing until 2028. Expropriation of properties from the funds has not been included, something Sumar and Podemos are calling for, with the minority wing of the executive expecting this matter to be addressed in a separate decree later.
The macro-decree approved on Tuesday does include a two-year extension of rental contracts in force that end before 31 December 2028, provided the tenant is up to date with rent payments, with rent increases capped at 2 per cent for the annual updating of contracts, measures similar to those that already came out of the Council of Ministers in March and ended up falling due to Congress’s rejection. The text also includes regulation of seasonal and room rentals, though the new state regulation of room rentals will not apply in regions that already have their own rules, such as Catalonia, an exception that would satisfy Junts, as Carles Puigdemont’s formation was especially reluctant to regulate room rentals at the state level, considering it a regional competence. As for holiday rentals, VAT is set at 10 per cent for tourist flats despite the government having promised to raise it to 21 per cent, with Housing Minister Isabel Rodríguez saying this forms part of the dialogue and acknowledging the concession towards Junts and the PNV.
El Gobierno aprueba dos decretos de vivienda:
— Julen Bollain (@JulenBollain) September 29, 2026
→ Protección frente a desahucios hasta 2030.
→ Regulación del alquiler de temporada y por habitaciones.
→ Prohibición de compras de vivienda por fondos buitre hasta 2028.
→ Prórroga de 2 años para los contratos que vencen antes…
The text also incorporates a package of tax breaks for both tenants and owners, with deductions in personal income tax for tenants whose annual income does not exceed 33,000 euros. According to Rodríguez, the rule contemplates several scenarios estimated to benefit 1.6 million households, adding that some families will save a month’s rent. Among the tax measures, a super-reduced VAT of 4 per cent is also included for the construction of protected and publicly promoted housing. New tax aid is also created to facilitate the purchase of a new home through a new ICO financing line dubbed Tu Casa, which Rodríguez described as a mechanism for financing loans for access to a first home with a 0 per cent interest rate, covering up to 20 per cent of the property’s value. The aim is to help families with a solvent profile but insufficient savings to pay the deposit take that step.
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For all these measures to be permanent, their approval on Tuesday in the Council of Ministers is not enough, as Congress must also give the green light to each of the texts and ratify them, a procedure for which there is a 30-day deadline. However, given the importance of the measures, the executive has asked Congress to hold an extraordinary plenary session this Friday so that the vote takes place immediately, avoiding a situation of uncertainty if the lower house rejects any of the texts given their momentary validity between approval in the Council of Ministers and the congressional vote. Many voices have condemned this decree, arguing that owners will not rent out their homes if they are tied up for life without guarantees, and that fear of not getting them back will remove many properties from the rental market and push prices up.
