El Gobierno retrasa la votación de los decretos de vivienda y acerca la fecha a las elecciones

The Spanish government has postponed the vote on the two housing decrees and moved the date closer to the upcoming elections. Both decrees were previously approved last week, with one already in effect. However, the government decided against bringing either text before the Permanent Deputation of the Congress of Deputies (Diputación Permanente) today.

The urgency with which the government re-approved the decrees, following the first rejection in the full Congress session, will not ensure their vote on Friday. The agenda for the upcoming meeting only includes a debate and vote on the second decree, which addresses the conflict in the eastern Mediterranean and aid for drought-hit Valencia, approved by the Council of Ministers in the same session.

This move is notable given the government's emphasis on the urgent and extraordinary nature of the new regulation, despite the lower house having already dismissed it just days ago. The government's decision to move the validation or abolition of both texts to the beginning of the electoral campaign on November 13 could see the decree being delayed until November 6, with a legal 30-day window for debate and voting on a royal decree-law.

While the government's latest move does not indicate a change in the expected vote from parliamentary groups, the PNV is likely to vote in favor of the first decree, which includes the majority of measures, as it did in the previous Congress session on October 2. The second decree, which concerns the automatic renewal of leases and compensation for tenants against eviction, also appears secure, as the government lacks the support of the nationalist formation.

Due to the controversy surrounding the measure and the difficulties in securing its approval, the government has set the entry into force of the second decree for November 15, after the maximum deadline for the Diputación Permanente to decide on its validation or abolition.