The President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, is confident of gathering the necessary support to save the two housing decrees this Friday in Congress. Less than 48 hours before the vote and with three decisive partners still not revealing what they will do, the head of the Executive has declared himself "reasonably optimistic" and has asked parliamentary groups to assume their responsibility in the face of the housing emergency.
"Allow me to put myself in the best-case scenario before the vote arrives," Sánchez responded during the press conference held at the Palacio de la Moncloa alongside the President of France, Emmanuel Macron. The president has defended the negotiating work carried out in recent months and has recalled that the Government has incorporated proposals from different parties.
Sánchez has placed access to housing as the main concern of a large part of the citizenry and has demanded a "dose of responsibility" from his allies. "This is a matter of humanity," he insisted after mentioning people facing eviction or who cannot buy or rent a home.
His optimism still needs votes. Junts, the Basque Nationalist Party (PNV), and Podemos keep their decision open, while Esquerra Republicana de Catalunya (ERC) and EH Bildu have already confirmed that they will support the two decrees. The Popular Party and the far-right Vox will vote against.
Sánchez also responded to the president of the PP, Alberto Núñez Feijóo, who had again accused him of "betraying" Spaniards with his housing policies. "Betray whom? The vulture funds that speculate with housing? Well, yes, I like to be a traitor to those kinds of interests," he replied.
The head of the Executive also reproached certain PP officials for their "non-appearance," "inhumanity," and "insensitivity" regarding the eviction of Maricarmen Abascal. Sánchez maintained that neither the Community of Madrid nor the City Council of the capital "lifted a finger" to prevent the 87-year-old woman from being expelled from the house where she had lived since 1956.
The second decree faces the most difficult path
The Government brought two separate norms to the Council of Ministers this Tuesday. Sánchez has acknowledged that the first one has been worked on for months with parliamentary groups, while the text on the automatic renewal of rentals has had a much shorter negotiation process. That difference explains why the first part of the package now has more chances of moving forward.
The first decree was published this Wednesday in the Official State Gazette (BOE) and will come into force on Thursday. The norm extends protection against certain evictions of vulnerable people without housing alternatives until 2030, regulates seasonal and room rentals, and allows for a two-year extension of current contracts ending before December 31, 2028.
It also freezes rents that already exceed the state reference index until the end of 2027 and limits other updates to 2% in the absence of an agreement. The text restricts certain housing purchases until 2028 by companies dedicated to acquiring properties or mortgage debt below 70% of their appraisal value, in addition to incorporating fiscal changes and instruments to expand the public and affordable housing stock.
The second decree, whose publication in the BOE is scheduled for this Thursday, regulates the automatic renewal of rental contracts as long as the tenant fulfills their obligations. The text contemplates justified exceptions for the owner to recover the property and compensation of up to twelve monthly payments when rejecting the renewal without one of these causes.
Sánchez has admitted that this norm arrives at Congress less developed, although he has defended its coherence with the Housing Law. In his opinion, the continuity of contracts is a debate that Spain will have to face "sooner or later" given the insecurity families suffer when their rental period ends.
The separation was the result of last-minute negotiation between PSOE and Sumar. The minority partner wanted to keep the main measures within a single decree but ended up accepting that automatic renewal would travel in an independent text. The formula allows Congress to vote on each package separately, although it leaves the most ambitious measure exposed to its own defeat.
Junts, PNV and Podemos still hold their votes
Junts has received Sánchez's words with coolness. Its spokesperson in Congress, Míriam Nogueras, has declared herself "disappointed and worried" after a first reading and has assured that the final wording leaves the two objectives that her party had raised during the conversations "quite affected".
The pro-independence leader believes that the limitation on speculative purchases allows certain funds to continue acquiring homes and questions the scope of the protection reserved for owner families. Junts will continue studying the texts and for now avoids announcing whether it will facilitate their validation.
The PNV also demands time to analyze the fine print. Its spokesperson, Maribel Vaquero, has asked to differentiate between investment funds and small owners. The party president, Aitor Esteban, attended Congress this Wednesday and met with the Minister of the Presidency, Justice and Relations with the Cortes, Félix Bolaños, as part of the contacts opened by the Executive.
Podemos will decide after meeting this Thursday with the Tenants' Union. Its general secretary, Ione Belarra, has demanded the withdrawal of the two norms and the presentation of a single decree that preserves all measures together. The purple party shares several of the protections included, but considers that dividing them makes it easier for the automatic renewal of contracts to end up defeated.
ERC and EH Bildu have cleared part of the way. Both parties will vote in favor despite considering the package insufficient. The president of ERC, Oriol Junqueras, has defined it as a "patch", while EH Bildu deputy Oskar Matute has argued that its measures will offer immediate relief to thousands of families and should serve as a starting point.
Sumar has intensified pressure to secure the missing support. The Minister of Social Rights, Pablo Bustinduy, has recalled that the decrees include contributions from several left-wing groups and has asked to listen to the "social outcry" that maintains protests and housing encampments in several cities.
The extraordinary plenary session will begin this Friday at eleven in the morning. The Minister of Housing and Urban Agenda, Isabel Rodríguez, will defend the first decree from the Congress rostrum. Bustinduy will assume the presentation of the second, the text that will decide whether the automatic renewal of rents finally overcomes the most uncertain negotiation.
