Sumar has demanded this Thursday that the Basque Nationalist Party (PNV) change its vote against the decree for the automatic renewal of rental contracts and allow its approval this Friday in Congress. The minority partner of the Government appeals to the "extreme urgency" of the housing crisis after the Basque party announced a decision that leaves one of the main measures promoted by Sumar without sufficient support.
Sources from that space, cited by Europa Press, maintain that renewal is essential to "control the abusive escalation of rental prices" and provide stability to tenants and owners. "It is a European measure, with similar applications in Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands, or France, which serves as a safety net for thousands of people, also in Euskadi," they have argued, asking the PNV to reconsider its position.
The Minister of Social Rights, Consumer Affairs, and Agenda 2030, Pablo Bustinduy, will defend the text before the plenary session, while the Minister of Housing, Isabel Rodríguez, will present the first decree. Sumar's proposal establishes the automatic renewal of contracts and obliges the owner to prove a justified cause for not renewing them or, otherwise, compensate the tenant. This is a different regulation from the extraordinary two-year extension included in the main package.
The PNV has split its votes. It will "critically" support the first decree, which contains protection against evictions, tax breaks, and other housing measures, but will reject automatic renewal. Its spokesperson in Congress, Maribel Vaquero, argues that the latter penalizes small owners and will reduce the rental supply. Sumar, on the other hand, defends that contractual stability also protects landlords.
The Basque decision changes the voting scenario. PP, the far-right Vox, and PNV add up to 175 deputies, and the expected rejection from UPN would raise that bloc to 176, the absolute majority of Congress. If they maintain these positions, the second decree will fall even if Junts supported it. Carles Puigdemont's party, which has expressed its opposition to this measure, has called its leadership to a meeting at 9:00 p.m. to decide its votes.
The reaction has been particularly harsh in Euskadi. The general secretary of Sumar Mugimendua, Alba García, has described it as "unacceptable" that the PNV stands with the Spanish right and far-right and has denounced that it will be "the vote of shame". In a message on Bluesky, she accused the nationalists of siding with "speculation and rent-seeking" and criticized them for following Ayuso's policies of "brick, speculation, and red carpet for rentiers."
Automatic renewal is one of the central demands of the tenant movement, whose mobilization intensified after the eviction of Maricarmen, 87, and the encampment in Puerta del Sol. Podemos has confirmed its support for both decrees. If the second is repealed, the Government plans to bring the measure back to Parliament through a bill.
