Spain publishes sweeping housing decree as protests continue

Spain published a sweeping housing decree Wednesday introducing new protections for tenants and restrictions on property investors, as housing protests continued in Madrid and Malaga and political parties prepared for a decisive parliamentary vote Friday.

The decree, published in Spain’s Official State Gazette, will enter into force Thursday and includes 20 articles covering measures on evictions, rents, taxation and affordable housing.

Among its most significant provisions is one targeting so-called “vulture funds.” The decree restricts companies and other entities whose business includes acquiring real estate from purchasing homes for less than 70% of their appraised market value until the end of 2028, with exemptions including for social and affordable housing.

It also provides for the suspension through 2030 of certain evictions involving vulnerable people without alternative housing and introduces tighter regulation of temporary and room rentals.

Temporary rental contracts will require a genuine and demonstrable reason for their temporary nature, while repeated or unjustifiably long temporary contracts can be treated as ordinary residential leases. For room rentals, the combined rent charged for individual rooms cannot exceed the amount that could be charged for renting the property as a whole.

Rent increases will face additional limits through the end of 2027. When rent is already above the applicable reference-price ceiling, no increase will be allowed, while in other cases increases may not exceed 2% without a new agreement between the landlord and tenant.

A second decree, expected to be published Thursday, contains a separate measure providing for the automatic renewal of rental contracts.

According to El Pais, landlords who decide not to renew a lease after the mandatory rental period would generally be required to compensate tenants with at least 12 months’ rent, with exceptions including cases in which the owner needs the home for themselves or certain family members.

Both decrees are due to face an extraordinary ratification vote in parliament Friday.

The measures come amid days of housing protests. Demonstrators spent a fourth night camped in Madrid’s central Puerta del Sol, where the protest grew after the eviction of 87-year-old Maricarmen Abascal, who had lived in her home for more than 70 years.

A parallel camp continued Wednesday in Malaga’s Plaza de la Constitucion, where around 50 people in roughly 25 tents spent the night. Organizers are also preparing a housing demonstration in the southern city Saturday.

The government still faces uncertainty over whether parliament will ratify the decrees Friday. A similar housing decree was rejected by lawmakers in April, when Congress voted 177-166 against validating it.

Opposition leader Alberto Nunez Feijoo said his conservative Popular Party would vote against both decrees, calling the package a “trap.”

“Don’t count on me to rip off anyone,” he said, arguing that the government should instead focus on building more housing.