Protection against evictions, prohibition of the speculative purchase of homes by vulture funds, “stabilization” of rental contracts and aid to individuals without savings for the purchase of a house. These are some of the measures that are on the table in the negotiations between the Government and the parliamentary groups regarding the new housing package that the Executive hopes to take to the Council of Ministers this Tuesday, according to sources familiar with the conversations. Added to these are a new tax treatment for landlords and tenants, the shielding of the state park, regulation of seasonal rentals, a tax blow to tourist apartments and a VAT reduction for the construction of protected housing with permanent qualification.
The Government is tightening the last hours of negotiation of the housing decree that must see the light of day in the next Council of Ministers. The coalition parties, PSOE and Sumar, maintain permanent conversations with the formations of the majority of the investiture to evaluate a text that incorporates some news about the failed attempts of spring and July, and that now returns to the fore after the turning point that the eviction of Maricarmen has represented. In the interest of reaching an agreement, they have given in on the reform of the Land Law that was contained in the July text to expedite permits and concessions for construction. Podemos said that it was a red line because it encouraged “balling” but it was a request that the PSOE itself and also Junts and PNV supported.
The parties are negotiating new purchase aid for young people and measures to protect the public housing stock. The restriction on vulture funds acquiring residential properties or tax credits for tenants also continue to be outlined, in addition to owners who have their apartments rented and are affected by a possible freeze or extension of rents. There is also negotiation on the table for tourist apartments to be taxed through VAT to stop their proliferation; provide aid to people who want to buy a home, but do not have savings; and lower the VAT on the construction of protected housing with permanent qualification.
The minority partner of the Government cools expectations a little by ensuring that "the text is still far from giving a clear answer on very specific points: complete protection against evictions, regulation of seasons and rooms, the extension of contracts, tackling fraud in tourist apartments, and the renewal of contracts", all hot points of the negotiation.
The same Sumar sources assure: “We are not going to allow elements that are central to tackling the housing crisis that our country is suffering to be diluted.” The tug of war with the conservative groups Junts and PNV leads to some of the measures that the most progressive parties want being blurred. “At this time we are far from having an agreement on the text and we are going to continue working today,” they emphasize to EL PAÍS.
The first vice president of the Government, Carlos Body, confirmed this Monday that the Government will approve the decree this Tuesday. Although he has not clarified what specific measures the new regulations will contain, he has stated that everything is on the table, with the aim of protecting vulnerable groups and facilitating access for young people. He has also defended the measures that the Government has implemented, including the programs of the Official Credit Institute (ICO) and the España Crece projects, whose objective is to increase the public housing stock, reports Álvaro Bayón.
Corps has trusted that the negotiations led by the Minister of Housing, Isabel Rodríguez, will reach a successful conclusion. Yes, it has demanded responsibility from the rest of the parliamentary groups in Congress to validate the text proposed by the Executive on Tuesday. And also to the private sector and banks to promote these measures.
The initial text that circulated in July and that did not manage to pass the filter of the parliamentary majority has been opened in channel and measures are added at full speed to respond to the concern of a street that has risen in protests during the weekend throughout Spain and that have crystallized with a camp in the Puerta del Sol in Madrid. The eviction of the 87-year-old woman last week has opened what the President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, described as a “window of opportunity”, to issue a decree law that reforms the most painful points of the real estate market and partially corrects the housing crisis that makes emancipation inaccessible for many young people. The president has a social housing event in Barcelona where new protests are expected.
It is not yet clear how the purchase will be limited to the so-called housing vulture funds, a very symbolic measure but with many edges. Sumar had already proposed a ban on legal entities purchasing residential housing and it was ruled out as complex. But now they would be fine-tuning the formula so that large investment funds stop speculating in housing, without affecting the business of the thousands of SMEs that are dedicated to it.
Negotiations for tax credits are also open. Experts did not welcome continuing to encourage demand measures, such as purchasing aid, since they may have the effect of increasing prices in the long run. However, government sources say that measures focused on young people are being studied to be able to access a first home and also tax credits for tenants.
The tax advantages for owners who do not raise rents were a demand from Junts to which Sumar has agreed from the beginning as a concession to issue the decree negotiated by the Minister of Housing, Isabel Rodríguez, in the first person.
Among the proposals, one that may have the greatest impact is protection against evictions, proposed with the aim of preventing a case like Maricarmen's from occurring again. The stabilization of rental contracts also occupies a prominent place, one of the main demands put on the table by the Tenants' Union, which demands mechanisms to protect households against abusive increases and against the uncertainty associated with renovations. The details of all these measures have yet to be defined and it will be precisely the fine print that determines the real scope.
The negotiation takes place against the clock. The Government wants to approve the decree this Tuesday after months of conversations, in a climate of growing social and political pressure so that the response to the severe housing crisis is not reduced to partial or cosmetic measures. The Tenants' Union, which is leading the protests in Madrid after the eviction of the octogenarian, has made its proposals known and is demanding that this time they lead to a truly ambitious package.
However, as it is a royal decree law, the text must be put to a vote in Congress within 30 days of passing through the Council of Ministers and will need sufficient votes to be validated. That turns the prior negotiation into a kind of squaring the circle. The Government not only has to get its partners to accept the content of the decree, but it needs the final result to be able to gather a sufficient majority in a Chamber in which it does not have its own majority.
