The Prime Minister, Pedro Sánchez, announced this Monday a package of measures to intervene in the rental market and curb abusive price increases, with special attention to contracts being renewed this year and to seasonal and room rentals.
Measures
Among all the initiatives that the Executive will approve in the coming weeks by **royal decree**, a **100% income tax deduction for landlords** is included for those who **renew their contracts without increasing rent**, with the aim of avoiding abusive increases that could affect **more than 1.6 million tenants**.In addition, Sánchez has announced that **stricter limits will be established for seasonal rentals and room rentals**. Specifically, the future regulation will establish that **the total rent for room rentals cannot exceed the rent of an equivalent entire dwelling**, and will apply additional controls in **areas considered "tensioned"** (areas where housing demand far exceeds available supply) by the market
The president has defended these measures as an urgent response to abuse and fraud in the rental sector, which, according to the Government, in many cases translates into unjustified price increases to maximize profits at the expense of tenants.
Context
The Spanish housing market has been experiencing several years of excessive price increases, especially in large cities and strategic areas with significant tourist appeal. This situation makes it increasingly difficult to find decent rental housing that corresponds to the average income of Spaniards. In addition to the rising prices, tenants are faced with sudden, steep increases they cannot afford. In this context, these measures could be interpreted as a social policy tool to address an emergency that has been denounced for years. The disillusionment of left-wing voters has led to significant drops in voting intentions in recent polls. The Government seeks with these initiatives to regain trust and demonstrate that it is acting decisively against real problems affecting citizens' daily lives.