The Government agrees to two housing decrees while the protest camps continue

The Government parties have reached an agreement to approve two Royal Decree Laws on housing and “respond to the demands of citizens and advance rights.” The first decree includes measures such as protection against evictions extended until 2030; the regulation of seasonal rentals and rooms; the prohibition on the purchase of vulture funds until 2028, the two-year extension of current contracts that end before December 31, 2028, tax measures and 10% VAT for tourist apartments. In the second, there is only the automatic extension of rents, a claim by Sumar that the Government admits that “it has not been possible to work with the political groups” as much as the first. The measures will be voted on in an extraordinary plenary session of Congress this Friday.

Sumar admits that they did not like dividing the measures into two decrees, but understands that they are “just a first step” and encourage citizens to continue pressing. The Tenants Union has also criticized the Government's decision to approve housing measures in two different decrees. Meanwhile, thousands of protesters continue to camp at Puerta del Sol in Madrid and other cities to demand an end to speculation and evictions.

The five ministers of Sumar have expressed their satisfaction with what the head of Social Rights, Pablo Bunstiduy, has described as a “first step towards the economic and social transformation” of the country. “I wish anyone who faces this social clamor a very delicate political fate,” the leader said in a message aimed primarily at the right after the approval of two decree laws on housing in the Council of Ministers.

The Minister of Housing, Isabel Rodríguez, has explained that the second of the two decrees with measures on housing is the one that contemplates measures “to reinforce the stability of rental contracts.” “So that living on rent is not living second rate, or living in suspense,” he said. It includes the automatic renewal of rental contracts, but “with safeguards for different circumstances, inspired by other European regulations,” Rodríguez explained.

The PP rejects the housing decrees approved today in the Council of Ministers, as stated by the parliamentary spokesperson of the PP, Ester Muñoz, at a press conference in Congress. Muñoz has described the negotiation of the Government's partners as "vaudeville" and, although he does not advance the meaning of his vote, he flatly rejects the known proposals.

The Tenants' Union has celebrated that Maricarmen can return to her home and the progress of the camps that extend to different parts of the country and that, according to their spokespersons, "are giving the Government a historic challenge." However, he has warned that he keeps “all eyes on” the fine print of the royal decree and has shown his rejection of the measures being divided into two texts. “It is the tactic of breaking it into little pieces so that only a few crumbs remain,” they have criticized.