The Government will publish this Thursday in the Official State Gazette (BOE) the decree on the automatic renewal of rental agreements, one of the measures demanded by Sumar, PSOE's partner in the coalition government, according to government sources.
The same sources explain that the fact of having published one of the decrees approved by the Government on Tuesday this Wednesday and leaving the second for tomorrow is because the last published norm is the one that prevails. In this case, the second royal decree-law will include the automatic renewal of contracts, while the first, already published, sets the validity of rental agreements until December 2028.
The coalition government finally approved two royal decree-laws on housing matters this past Tuesday, after intense negotiations that lasted until the last minute and were marked by the eviction of Maricarmen Abascal, at 87 years of age.
Validation in the Congress of Deputies
Both royal decree-laws will be taken this Friday to the Congress of Deputies for their validation, although for the moment the necessary votes for them to go ahead are not assured, especially the second, which incorporates the automatic extension of rental agreements.
The formula chosen by the Executive, the so-called splitting of measures into two decrees, has not pleased Sumar, which has urged popular mobilization to try to achieve the validation of both texts this Friday.
The housing measures incorporated in the second decree
Among the most notable measures are the two-year extension of rental contracts that expire before December 31, 2028, the 2% cap on the annual update of rents, the regulation of seasonal rentals and room rentals, as well as anti-eviction protection for vulnerable families without housing alternatives until December 31, 2030.
The text also clarifies the prohibitions on purchases by so-called "vulture funds", although it does not detail them, and extends to operations carried out at a price lower than 70% of their market appraisal value.
Social pressure on the streets and call to remain mobilized
Social pressure continues on the streets with a camp in the Puerta del Sol in Madrid, which this Wednesday marks its fifth day, promoted by the Tenants' Union and by Sumar's urgency to push through measures it considers "non-negotiable".
Mobilizations for the right to housing have spread to other cities and, from Sumar, they encourage them to continue because, they argue, the process does not end this Friday and many measures still remain to be approved.