PSOE and Frente Amplio have defended the extensions of rental contracts and the fiscal measures adopted in the latest royal housing decrees, while the PP has opted to build a million homes and Vox has placed "remigration" and the reduction of demand linked to immigration among its priorities.
The first vice president and minister of Economy, Commerce and Business, Carlos Body (PSOE); the Minister of Social Rights, Consumption and Agenda 2030, Pablo Bustinduy (Frente Amplio); the Deputy Secretary of Finance of the PP, Juan Bravo; and Vox's economic spokesperson, José María Figaredo, debated this Friday on La Sexta about economic issues ahead of the general elections on November 29.
One of the central topics of the debate has revolved around housing, one of the main problems of Spaniards today and which has even been one of the reasons for the call for the general strike on November 11.
Body has maintained that the November 29 vote faces "two options" in terms of housing and has warned of the consequences that, as it has indicated, repealing the measures approved by the Government would have. Specifically, it has estimated that there are 1.9 million households, some five million people, that can benefit from a two-year extension of their contracts.
The head of the Economy has rejected that these measures put owners and tenants against each other and has defended that small landlords can also benefit. As explained, an owner who reduces the rent can increase his disposable income thanks to the planned tax treatment. "Both benefit from renting well," he stated.
For his part, Bustinduy has linked the approval of the housing decree with the pressure of social mobilizations and has thanked the participation in the general strike and the involvement of young people in the protests for access to a house.
"We are defending the tenants, the working class, and the Popular Party and Vox voting in favor of the big landlords and the vulture funds," he reproached.
Furthermore, he recalled that Frente Amplio has proposed a tax on the accumulation of housing that, as detailed, would tax 10% of the total value of the property from the fourth rental home. Bustinduy has maintained that this measure would affect 1% of owners and would allow 1.3 million homes to be mobilized towards affordable rentals.
The head of Social Rights has also defended the construction of public housing protected in perpetuity and has questioned whether young people can compete, at current market prices, with investment funds that acquire properties without resorting to a mortgage.
The PP is committed to "build, facilitate and protect"
In the debate, Bravo has attributed the housing situation to the "mismanagement" of the Government and has summarized the PP's alternative in three axes: "Build, facilitate and protect." According to the figures attributed to the Bank of Spain, the deficit reaches 750,000 homes and will reach one million in 2028 if the pace of construction does not change.
The popular leader has reiterated his commitment to promoting one million homes during the first term and has defended changes in land legislation, a law against occupation and tax measures to facilitate access to a house.
Among them, he has mentioned a 60% VAT reduction, reductions in the property transfer tax and a "Young Home piggy bank" with annual contributions of up to 2,000 euros and tax deductions.
Regarding rentals, it has proposed voluntarily extending contracts for three years through incentives for both the owner and the tenant. Bravo has contrasted this formula with "interventionism" and has questioned Corpus for a 2014 article in which, as he noted, he warned that the costs of rent controls exceeded their benefits.
Vox places immigration at the center of the debate
For his part, Figaredo has blamed the crisis on the combination of insufficient supply and an increase in demand that he has linked to the Executive's immigration policy. "In Spain there are more and more people and fewer houses," he maintained.
