The Government approved again this Tuesday the two housing decrees that Congress rejected on Friday. The main difference lies in the purchase of housing at bargain prices: the limitation on vulture funds is extended from the end of 2028 to the end of 2030 and also applies to large holders. The texts will reach the Permanent Deputation, the body that maintains the activity of Congress after the dissolution of the Cortes due to the elections on November 29.
The scope of this veto requires precision. These entities are not prohibited from buying any housing. The restriction is aimed at gratuitous acquisitions or for a price lower than 70% of the market value, a formula with which the Executive intends to make it difficult to buy properties cheaply to then obtain a high return. The previous decree already used that threshold; the one approved today extends its duration and expands the affected entities.
More entities under the veto and an independent appraisal
The new wording expressly includes entities dedicated to buying portfolios of unpaid mortgages, in addition to large holders and their group companies. To determine if an operation falls below the limit, the buying party must provide a valuation carried out by an independent appraiser, approved and registered with the Bank of Spain. The comparison will be made with the value of the property on the date the binding agreement is reached.
The text contemplates exceptions for purchases intended for social or affordable housing, socio-health care, accommodation for vulnerable people or protection of victims of gender violence. It also provides for a path linked to a future Code of Good Practices that must be approved by the Council of Ministers. This code will establish obligations to offer a housing alternative to affected vulnerable people. According to the new wording advanced this Tuesday, entities covered by certain exceptions will also not be able to evict until the end of 2030 those who already live in these properties if they lack other housing.
Protection against evictions for vulnerable people and extraordinary extensions of up to two years for rental contracts are maintained in the main decree. The regulation of seasonal and room rentals and fiscal measures on tourist flats also continue. Among the changes aimed at small owners, the new text adds that the competent administrations will assume, when appropriate, the legal costs and interest derived from certain eviction procedures.
Loans to buy a home and more information in advertisements
Another notable addition is the allocation of 10,000 million euros for a loan line from the Official Credit Institute (ICO) aimed at facilitating the purchase of a first home. The mechanism was included in the previous decree, but at that time, this amount had not been specified. It will allow requesting up to 50,000 euros without interest to cover part of the down payment for a mortgage. Pedro Sánchez has indicated that people of different ages will be able to access it, provided it is their first home and they meet the program's conditions. These are loans that must be repaid, even if they do not generate interest.
Rental offers must show more data to the potential tenant. According to the advanced novelties of the text, advertisements will have to indicate the price reference index, the legal rent limit when the home is in an area where it applies, and the landlord's status as a large holder, if applicable. The Government also includes 400 million euros for social housing providers and maintains guarantees to boost industrialized construction and the incorporation of Social Security properties into the public company Casa 47.
The parliamentary process of the two decrees is again different. The Basque Nationalist Party (PNV) has announced that it will support the main text, a vote that facilitates its validation in the Permanent Deputation. In contrast, it will reject the second, which establishes the automatic renewal of rentals when the contract expires, with exceptions for owners who prove they need to recover the home. Given the lack of a favorable majority for this measure, the Government has arranged that this second decree will only come into force if the Permanent Deputation validates it.
