The parliamentary spokesperson for the PNV, Joseba Díez Antxustegi, warned this Tuesday that his party will not support the new royal decree-law on housing matters promoted by the central government, if the final text "puts vulture funds and small owners at the same level." In an interview granted to Euskadi Irratia, collected by Europa Press, the jeltzale leader asked to "negotiate without haste and well," considering that "a decree cannot be approved overnight because there is a certain discomfort in the streets."
Díez Antxustegi stressed that "putting a specific person's name on a decree says a lot about Spanish politics," and defended that the housing policies developed in the Basque Parliament during recent months "have been effective." As he explained, the PNV does not work "looking at headlines or the media or a discomfort that may exist in the streets," but "to solve problems."
"We do not make housing policies looking at headlines or the media or a discomfort that may exist in the streets. We make policy to solve problems, and in this legislature in Parliament we have approved a law to build more housing and faster," he assured.
"They are not the same and we cannot treat them the same"
The jeltzale spokesperson insisted that his party's message "is very clear" regarding proposals that, in his opinion, seek to equate vulture funds with small owners. "To those who put vulture funds and small owners at the same level, we clearly tell them that, if this decree intends to achieve that, it will not have the support of the PNV, because a vulture fund and a small owner who rents an apartment in the Zaramaga neighborhood of Vitoria-Gasteiz are not the same," he stated.
Along these lines, Joseba Díez Antxustegi defended that "they are not the same and we cannot treat them the same," and considered that this position responds to a "mature and responsible" attitude. The PNV leader conveyed that same message to Podemos, pointing out that, "if their objective is to equate a vulture fund and a person who rents a home in a small neighborhood of Vitoria-Gasteiz, they will not have our support."
Legal certainty for small owners
Despite his differences with the way housing policy is approached in Spain, Díez Antxustegi affirmed that the PNV continues to negotiate the decree because "we are a responsible party and we know that when there is a problem, a solution must be sought." As he explained, his party's objective has always been "to protect small owners who have homes and want to put them up for rent and give them legal certainty."
The jeltzale parliamentarian acknowledged that, "if you approve a law at the end of last year, homes are not built in three or four months," since construction takes time and "we know that complex problems are not solved overnight."
The approach, he maintained, can also benefit those who live in rented accommodation, because "those people need there to be homes on the market," and for that, it is necessary to "provide security and peace of mind to small owners."
During his speech, Díez Antxustegi provided a piece of data to reinforce his argument: he pointed out that vulture funds hold "less than 5%" of the housing market in Euskadi, while the rest belongs to small owners. "95% of those who live in rented accommodation in Euskadi pay rent or rent the apartment to these small owners, who are not vulture funds, but normal workers who have saved and have a home or a small apartment," he stated.
Protection for vulnerable people and the role of administrations
The spokesperson for the PNV also defended that institutions must protect vulnerable people, and cited families with young children, elderly people in vulnerable situations, and people with disabilities. "We must protect vulnerable people, because we cannot leave these groups in the street," he maintained.
Regarding this issue, Díez Antxustegi posed a rhetorical question: "But who is going to protect these people? Small owners? We believe not." In his opinion, this responsibility must fall on the administrations, which are, he said, "those of us in politics." "We cannot leave that burden on small owners, because it is not fair and because it is not good for people who want to live in rented accommodation," he added.
Finally, the jeltzale leader defended that the public housing system in Euskadi already has procedures to prevent such people from becoming homeless, although he advocated for "improving it, working on it, and deepening it further." "In 21st century Europe, we cannot allow anyone to be left in the street, homeless," he said, while insisting that this burden "cannot be placed on small homeowners, but must be assumed by institutions."
