El PSOE y Sumar alcanzan un acuerdo para aprobar el decreto de vivienda

After delaying an hour, the Council of Ministers announced an agreement between the governing coalition parties, PSOE and Sumar, to approve the housing decree. The two coalition parties reached an accord to approve the housing decree this Tuesday after months of negotiations, which saw a rush following the eviction of Maricarmen, an 87-year-old woman from her rent-stabilized apartment in Madrid.

Government sources confirmed that the agreement was reached to approve housing measures and respond to citizens' demands, advancing rights after a negotiation that concluded late last night with the rest of parliamentary groups. The decree is expected to include controversial rent extensions for contracts expiring before 2029, increasing the tax on vacation rentals, or a fiscal package to stimulate a housing market strained by a lack of supply.

The actual decree-law to be approved today by the Council of Ministers must be ratified within a month by the Congress of Deputies, where support does not seem as clear after yesterday's negotiation, in which Junts accused the department led by Isabel Rodríguez of changing the first draft and presenting a new omnibus decree incorporating other measures with which the independentist formation does not agree.

This morning, Junts' spokesperson in the Congress, Mònica Nogueras, said in an interview with Catalunya Ràdio that there is still room to reach an agreement, though it should be based on a first decree with measures we all agree on and continue working to reach an agreement. Despite the final details of the measures remaining unknown, government sources said yesterday that the decree would revolve around ten central points, with the first being better protection against evictions to ensure no more "Maricarmens," according to sources.

The decree is expected to include measures against speculative housing purchases by investment funds, as well as others to provide stability to rental contracts in autonomous communities where the Housing Law does not apply, with a new rent extension -principally for contracts expiring until 2028-. The text could also feature a new regulation for seasonal rentals to end fraud in short-term contracts; and shielding the state housing park.

However, no doubt the most significant innovations in the decree negotiated at breakneck speed with its partners is a new fiscal package to stimulate supply. In this section, five main pillars would be included: a rise in the VAT for vacation rentals from the current 10% to 21%, with the aim of discouraging this activity in favor of long-term or residential rentals; new bonuses for tenants and owners who lower rental prices; a reduction in VAT for the construction of protected housing with permanent qualification; and other support for first-time homebuyers, which could include deductions in income tax.