Published : 06 Oct 2026, 09:30 PM
Updated : 06 Oct 2026, 09:31 PM
Spain’s government on Tuesday approved two housing decrees whose rejection by parliament last week prompted Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez to call a snap election.
The measures include rent caps, a temporary ban on evictions and restrictions on corporate purchases of residential property. Sanchez defended the policies as necessary to protect vulnerable people and address what he called a dysfunctional housing market.
Sanchez said the measures were based on “plain common sense” and argued that opinion polls showed broad public support for greater intervention in the property market.
He brought forward the election, now scheduled for Nov 29, after failing to secure enough parliamentary support for his housing proposals. The move has allowed his government to introduce the rules with backing from a smaller caretaker legislature.
The measures will take temporary effect once published in the official state gazette, but must then be approved by lawmakers who remain in place after parliament’s dissolution.
The reduced legislature has 69 members, including lower house speaker Francina Armengol of Sanchez’s Socialist Party, and has a slim majority supporting the measures, state broadcaster TVE reported.
A separate decree proposing automatic renewal of rental contracts will only take effect if approved by the caretaker legislature, Sanchez said, as his government lacked enough support to pass it through the full parliament.
Carolina Roca, president of the Association of Property Developers of Madrid, criticised the measures, saying they could discourage investment needed to increase housing supply.
“The legal uncertainty inherent in both decrees will result in a sharp slowdown in the limited investment secured to date in the construction of affordable housing,” she said.
The attempted eviction of an 87-year-old woman in Madrid has triggered nationwide protests, including calls for a general strike ahead of the election. Sanchez said his government would respect the planned industrial action.
