Junts arrives divided to the meeting that will decide tonight the future of the Government's main housing decree. Its general secretary, Jordi Turull, has called the leadership to a telematics meeting at 9:00 p.m., to set the vote of the seven deputies in this Friday's extraordinary plenary session. The support of Podemos and the Basque Nationalist Party (PNV) for the first text now focuses the negotiation on Carles Puigdemont's party.
The decision affects measures such as protection against evictions of vulnerable people, rental extensions, and limits on speculative housing purchases. An abstention by Junts would allow this package to be validated if Coalición Canaria votes in favor. Its rejection, however, would block the measures with the expected distribution of support.
The second decree, which establishes the automatic renewal of rental contracts and compensation for their unjustified termination, faces another scenario. The announced no vote by the PNV leaves it without a majority, even if Junts changed its position and supported it. Tonight's unknown is therefore concentrated on the text that gathers the bulk of the protections.
Nogueras hardens rejection and Turull seeks margin
The discrepancies within Junts reach its main leaders. According to 'El Independiente', the spokesperson in Congress, Míriam Nogueras, advocates voting against both decrees, while Turull maintains a more open position regarding the first one. 'La Vanguardia' also reports differences between leaders who want to reject it and others who believe that overturning the measures would have a political cost given social pressure.
Nogueras already showed that toughness on Wednesday night, during a meeting of the employers' association Pimec. "We are aware that these are not easy decisions, nor too mediatic, but, I insist, we are not afraid of getting burned," she stated. The spokesperson claimed Junts' rejection of the reduction of the working day as an example of its defense of small businesses, transferring that same argument to the housing debate.
The objections focus on the protection of small owners and the wording of restrictions on investment funds. Junts argues that the Government has altered what was negotiated with Housing by incorporating the demands of its left-wing partners. Nogueras declared herself "disappointed and concerned" on Wednesday, although she avoided publicly announcing the vote.
The negotiators question whether the limitation of certain purchases below 70% of the appraisal value also applies to companies that include the acquisition of real estate in their corporate purpose. They preferred a veto aimed at specific entities, such as banks and investment companies. They also reject that owners bear the consequences of the lack of a housing alternative for vulnerable tenants.
This discomfort has fueled reports anticipating rejection. The formal position is still pending the meeting. Abstention offers an intermediate way out, although it would mean facilitating the approval of the decree and assuming that decision before the business and owner sectors that demand Junts to stop it.
Sánchez calls for humanity and the PNV closes the second decree
The President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, this afternoon asked the groups for "a broad perspective" to validate the norms. During his speech at the 'Foro La Toja', he demanded that the housing emergency prevail over political confrontation. "Let's put aside ideology and partisan confrontations to focus on a matter that is purely humanitarian," he stated.
The Minister of Housing, Isabel Rodríguez, has also addressed a call to Junts. "We have all made concessions, but the text is good for the majority of Spaniards and the majority of Catalans; I hope the vote will be affirmative," she said on 'Cadena SER'. The Government is trying to preserve the work negotiated for months and prevent the disagreement with the automatic renewal from dragging down the rest of the measures.
The first decree incorporates protection against evictions until the end of 2030, regulation of seasonal and room rentals, deductions for tenants, and bonuses for small owners. It also provides for two-year extensions for certain contracts expiring before the end of 2028, limits on rent updates, and 0% loans from the Official Credit Institute (ICO) to facilitate mortgage entry.
The PNV will give it "critical" support, considering that it protects vulnerable people and improves the situation of small owners. Its rejection of the second text joins that of PP, the far-right Vox and UPN, which gathers enough votes to prevent validation. This rule requires justifying the refusal to renew the lease and contemplates compensation to the tenant when there is no valid cause.
Podemos will support the two decrees, at the request of the Confederation of Tenants' Unions, while ERC and EH Bildu also support the measures. The mobilization that followed Maricarmen's eviction thus maintains its pressure on the deputies on the eve of the plenary session. Junts plans to communicate its decision in a press release after tonight's meeting.
