El Congreso tumba el decreto de vivienda que amenazaba con destruir la oferta de alquiler

The majority of Congress has decided to repeal the decree approved on Tuesday by the government to address the housing crisis. This is a foregone conclusion, given that Junts - whose votes were needed for the survival of the first text - had already announced his refusal to support a legislative package that, in its view, would only serve to further reduce the market and increase prices.

With these letters on the table, the plenary session of the Lower House began, where Housing and Urban Agenda Minister Isabel Rodríguez once again requested the abstention of Junts, assuring that 90% of what they delivered during negotiations is included in the decree. This has been the stance of the independentist formation, which continues to accuse the government of lying and presenting a disappointing decree on issues such as the definition of the rescue fund.

According to the party spokesperson in Congress, María Nogueras, the parameters in the text allow speculators to continue increasing prices. We are not seeking defeat, what we seek is a solution. The PNV spokesperson, Maribel Vaquero, warned of the blind faith in the maxims imposed by the PSOE partner, Sumar, which has detracted from the quality of the text and prevented it from being validated.

This despite the fact that they had given their vote to the first text, with a critical vote and recalling that we need small property owners to increase supply. The government may approve a new housing decree next week, although it may not have ended the vote that evening. Although Junts' refusal to approve the proposal by Isabel Rodríguez to vote in favor of the text in exchange for processing it as a draft law and introducing technical modifications and amendments, Nogueras urged the government before the vote to withdraw the two decrees and present another new one next week, contingent on its demands.

What contained the two decrees that the Congress has crushed? The government decided to split its housing proposal into two, following negotiations with Junts and the difficulty of advancing the second proposal. The first decree, aimed at protecting the social function of housing and expanding affordable supply, covers four main blocks.

Deserts. The decree extends the validity of the so-called social shield until 2030, prohibiting evictions of vulnerable families until that date while expanding all public protection mechanisms to prevent this circumstance and protect all people, said Housing Minister Rodríguez. Speculative purchases. The text identifies companies that buy property for rental or speculative purposes, prohibiting their acquisition, presumably until 2028.

The definition of these funds, which cannot buy properties below 70% of their valuation price, seems to have been one of the main sticking points with Junts. Socimis. The fiscal treatment of Socimis dedicated to rental investment is reorganized to encourage investment in affordable housing. This measure was already included in the draft that was forwarded to the groups in July, where an increase in the special levies on undistributed profits that do not allocate their housing to affordable rental is contemplated up to 25%.

Mortgage term extensions. The first decree also includes an extension for leases expiring before December 31, 2028. This extension would be for one year, provided the tenant requests it, and can be renewed a second time without increasing the rent price above the established limits. Mortgage term suspension. The text also includes a limitation of 2% in the increase of rents.