Housing shortage: Spain's government once again decides on tenant protection measures

Madrid. After the failure of a package of measures for more tenant protection in parliament and the calling of new elections, Spain's left-wing caretaker government has again passed two amended decrees to defuse the housing crisis. They also have to be confirmed by Parliament.

However, this vote will take place in a kind of emergency parliament, the Standing Committee, after the regular parliament is dissolved. There, Sánchez's minority government, together with regional parties, has a razor-thin majority.

According to the constitution, the emergency or mini-parliament with 68 representatives and a president takes over parliamentary work during weeks without sessions or after the dissolution of parliament before an election. Members are selected in proportion to the strength of the factions. But due to rounding in the allocation of seats to smaller factions, the exact majority ratio often shifts.

This is currently the case and means that in the current constellation the blockade axis made up of the conservative People's Party PP, the right-wing populist Vox and the conservative separatist Catalan party Junts, which overturned the rent decrees on Friday, only has a total of 34 votes there.

The ruling parties PSOE and Sumar can count on 35 votes with the support of regional parties. The government could therefore still implement its plans for better protection of tenants against evictions, restrictions on real estate funds and incentives for home ownership.

The opposition, which rejected the rent decrees on Friday on the grounds that they would only worsen the situation on the housing market, sharply criticized the government's actions. "The Parliament, within the limits of its powers, has decided to reject these decrees. Pedro Sánchez, on the other hand, has chosen to continue twisting the rules of procedure and the laws in order to commit a further abuse of power," said Vox's spokesperson in Parliament, Pepa Millán.

The president of the regional government of Murcia, Fernando López Miras (PP), accused Sánchez of wanting to use “trickery” to get the decrees that had already been clearly rejected by the relevant parliament through “the back door in the Standing Committee”. This is an abuse of parliamentary procedure.