The Permanent Deputation of Congress that has finally given its approval - with 35 votes in favor compared to 34 against - to one of the two housing decrees approved by the Council of Ministers on October 6, with the elections already called, and has overturned the other - with 34 votes in favor and 35 against - has responded to the forecasts that were made from the first moment. Thus, without surprises, both the Government and the parliamentary formations have used their time to hold a succession of electoral rallies filled with attacks on the adversary and contradictory interpretations about the result of the general strike, for some a historic success and for others an example of hypocrisy and submission of the unions to the Executive.
The head of Housing, Isabel Rodríguez, has requested a vote in favor of the decree that has finally been validated by the Permanent Deputation, thus amending what the plenary session of Congress decided by absolute majority. Rodríguez has defended that the Council of Ministers continues to adopt measures until the last day despite being in an electoral campaign in order to take advantage of the balance of forces of the Provincial Council that now favors government interests.
The measurements
The decree that has been carried out contemplates as fundamental measures the limitation until the end of 2030 on the speculative purchase of homes for all those entities dedicated to the acquisition of real estate or large holders; prohibits evictions of vulnerable people without housing alternatives until December 31, 2030; The seasonal rental may not be less than one month or more than one year and in the case of room rentals, its sum may not exceed the rental price of the entire home and rental contracts that expire before December 31, 2028 may be extended for up to two years.
In addition, the rule includes tax credits for owners who are not large holders if they meet some conditions and also for tenants. As regards tourist rentals, it includes a 10% VAT tax for contracts of less than 30 days and to this is added the possibility for town councils to establish surcharges for these properties, as well as for second homes that remain empty for more than two years.
The Minister of Social Affairs, Pablo Bustinduy, has defended the second decree that has not been validated, the one that establishes the automatic extension of rents, with praise for the general strike that, in his opinion, "paralyzed the country." "People are tired of working from dawn to dusk so that their salary goes to someone else," he said, thus painting a distressing panorama for the majority of the population, ignoring, as he has been reproached from the right, that the housing market situation he describes has not been effectively addressed in eight years by the Government of which he is a part.
The decree that Bustinduy has defended, and has not made the cut, contemplated the automatic renewal of rents and included the obligation on the part of the owner, in case of failing to comply with the automatic renewal, to compensate the tenant with up to twelve months of rent. This fine would not be applied if the owner justifies that the home is for himself or a direct family member.
Ione Belarra ( Podemos ) has used herself to denounce the security forces for their "brutality and abuse" to try to "prevent the right to strike." The person "responsible" for all this, in his opinion, is "the Government of the PSOE and Frente Amplio." Belarra has called for the resignation of the Minister of the Interior, Fernando Grande-Marlaska, and has assumed that the "historic" general strike that occurred yesterday "will be the first of many."
Maribel Vaquero (PNV), whose vote has been decisive in preventing the validation of the second decree and the approval of the first, has insisted that "politics is not choosing between black and white." Basque nationalists advocate "not dividing society into two sides." "Some are looking for culprits to feed their story," Vaquero said, pointing to Minister Bustinduy. The PNV spokesperson has accused the Government of not negotiating and trying to impose its policies through decree law.
On the contrary, EH Bildu has emphasized that voting in favor of the decrees is doing so in favor of Basque workers. Óskar Matute has defended the general strike as "just" to "break the false story" of the clash between generations. This formation has insisted that the decree that has finally seen the light is "minimum" and "basic", "emergency measures", not structural.
Junts, through the mouth of Josep María Cruset, has assured that the two decrees submitted for validation and against which their party has voted are "a political scam." Junts has assured that the general strike was "against the Government because whoever sows misery reaps rage."
Gabriel Rufián (ERC) dedicated his speech to attacking Junts and personally against Cruset. The Catalan Republican spokesperson has put a 50 euro bill on the table again, ensuring that this is "the flag" of the Catalan right and has repeated that he wants "a subjugated PSOE Government." Rufián has also taken the opportunity to accuse two Junts deputies, without revealing their names, of "getting rich from real estate deals."
Vox, with José María Figaredo, has accused the Government of having "created the situation" that is now being experienced. Figaredo has also insisted on the harmful effects that in his opinion the Executive's immigration policy has on public services and has promised that, if Vox reaches the Government, it will build social housing for all those who, as Bustinduy has said, "live in shacks or caravans." "You cannot be defending the banners while the BOE is being written," said the Vox deputy.
The PSOE has defended the decrees, even knowing that one of them would not be validated, ensuring that "no harm is done" to the owners and insisting that the Government has "taken many measures" in favor of housing in eight years. Their deputies, Elisa Garrido and Alfonso Cendón, have blamed the regional executives of the PP for torpedoing them.
