Spain Approves Urgent Housing Measures Amidst Protests and Political Maneuvering
The government fast-tracked legislation through an interim body following a parliamentary defeat and subsequent early election call.
Spain's government has approved a package of urgent measures aimed at addressing the nation's housing crisis, just days after a parliamentary defeat on similar proposals led Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez to call for early elections. The legislation was passed by an interim legislative body known as the "permanent commission."
The move comes after a night of unrest in Barcelona, where protests against housing issues turned violent. Hundreds of activists clashed with police, setting fire to trash containers. This unrest followed weekend demonstrations across the country sparked by the eviction of an 87-year-old woman in Madrid.
The interim commission, composed of 69 members, is authorized to pass decrees while the regular 350-seat Parliament is inactive pending the November 29 early elections. Alejandro Quiroga, a political science professor at Madrid’s Complutense University, described the maneuver as constitutional and politically necessary for Sánchez. "If you are calling early elections so you can keep the public’s focus on housing, you can’t just sit back and do nothing about it," Quiroga told The Associated Press.
The new housing measures aim to provide greater protection for vulnerable Spaniards, extending eviction protections until 2030. They also seek to regulate room rentals, introduce a new tax on seasonal rentals, ban speculative real estate purchases, and offer tax incentives to landlords, according to Housing Minister Isabel Rodríguez.
Rising housing costs and shortages are increasingly pricing Spaniards out of the market, even amidst strong economic growth in Europe's fourth-largest economy. Protesters have been demanding more robust tenant protections, measures against fraud, and a ban on evictions when no alternative housing is available.