Sánchez calls on partners to save housing decrees: "Let them put people ahead of speculators"

The President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, has fully entered this Tuesday into the battle to push through the two housing decrees approved by the Council of Ministers. In a video published just a few minutes ago, he has claimed the Executive's response to social pressure and has called on parliamentary groups to support the measures when they reach Congress.

"We have listened to the people and we always do," Sánchez began, who directed part of his message to those who mobilized for Maricarmen and for all people with difficulties accessing decent housing. The president has positioned the approved package as a direct response to the eviction of the 87-year-old woman and to the protests that have kept Puerta del Sol occupied since Saturday.

Sánchez has defended that the two texts incorporate different positions and can gather a sufficient parliamentary majority. "Housing is a right and we are not going to let it become a product for speculation," he assured.

The first of the decrees extends until the end of 2030 the protection against evictions for vulnerable people without housing alternatives. It also allows to extend for two years current rental contracts that are up to date with payments and freezes until 2028 rents above the state reference index.

The package also tightens the regulation of seasonal and room rentals, increases the taxation of tourist flats, and bans certain speculative purchases made by vulture funds until 2028. The Executive simultaneously maintains incentives for small landlords who rent at affordable prices and new deductions for tenants.

The measures include interest-free loans of up to 50,000 euros to facilitate the purchase of a first home and reduced VAT to boost the construction of protected housing. The Government also shields properties managed by the public company Casa 47 to prevent them from subsequently ending up in private hands.

The Government now shifts pressure to Congress

The automatic renewal of rental contracts has been included in a second royal decree-law. The PSOE and Sumar decided to separate this measure from the rest during a last-minute negotiation, as it is the proposal that faces the most resistance among Junts and the Basque Nationalist Party (PNV).

Both texts must be ratified by Congress to remain in force. The Government has requested an extraordinary plenary session for this Friday, although it still lacks a closed majority. Junts expects to know the final wording before making a statement, and Podemos has criticized the division of the package into two decrees, a decision that Ione Belarra has defined as a "trap."

Sánchez has asked the parties that have shown a willingness to negotiate to act with "empathy" when the vote comes. "The Government has done its part, and now it is up to the parliamentary groups to do theirs," he stated.

The president reserved his harshest words for the Popular Party and Vox. "We can expect nothing from them," he affirmed before accusing them of defending a single housing project based on "the law of the jungle, defenselessness for tenants, and submission to vulture funds."

The PP has rejected the measures even before knowing the full texts and maintains that they will aggravate market problems. Sumar, for its part, considers the decrees a first step forward and has encouraged maintaining social mobilization to ensure their validation and continue expanding public intervention on rents.

Sánchez's call comes as the Sol encampment continues and the Tenants' Union maintains pressure on the Government and its partners. Maricarmen reached an agreement this Tuesday with the owning company to return to the home from which she was evicted last week.

"We have a unique opportunity to once again make every house a home, the basis for building a life project and a right within everyone's reach," Sánchez concluded. "Let's do it together."