The first of two housing decrees approved by the Spanish government on Tuesday, 29 September, during the Council of Ministers meeting prohibits investment funds from purchasing homes for less than 70% of their appraised market value until 31 December 2028. The restriction applies to both occupied homes and residential buildings with a certificate of completion. In addition, it broadens the definition of a "vulture fund" to include any entity, with or without legal personality, whose corporate purpose includes the acquisition of real estate.
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The publication of the decree on Wednesday, 30 September, in the Official State Gazette (BOE) clarifies an issue that Housing Minister Isabel Rodríguez had left unresolved. After the Council of Ministers meeting, the minister said the decree prohibited speculative investment funds from buying homes. However, the text published hours later introduces an important nuance: the restriction is not a blanket ban but rather a minimum purchase price requirement.
As a result, investment funds will still be able to acquire homes provided they pay at least 70% of the property's appraised market value. In practice, what the Government presented as a veto becomes a price floor, allowing these entities to continue operating in the residential market as long as purchases are made above that threshold.
The decree justifies the measure by arguing that people seeking housing must compete with "speculative investment funds whose sole objective is to maximise the economic profitability of housing". According to the Spanish government, this creates an imbalance that is "incompatible with Article 47 of the Constitution".
The exceptions: housing dedicated to social rental
The measure includes several exceptions. On the one hand, it does not apply where a property is intended for affordable or social rental housing for a minimum period of five years, socio-healthcare residences, housing for vulnerable groups through third-sector organisations, accommodation for victims of gender-based violence, or where the purchasing entity adheres to a Code of Good Practice agreed with the relevant public authority.
On the other hand, public entities whose purpose is the management of social housing are automatically exempt. This includes the state-owned company Casa 47 and equivalent bodies established by Spain's autonomous communities.
Evictions suspended until 2030
Regarding evictions, the decree establishes two different regimes depending on the type of owner initiating the proceedings.
When a property is owned by an investment fund, the suspension of eviction proceedings is automatic if the affected person has no alternative housing. The suspension will remain in force until 31 December 2030 and may be extended as long as the circumstances giving rise to the eviction continue. In these cases, the owner is not entitled to financial compensation.
Where the owner is not an investment fund, the decree introduces an extraordinary intervention mechanism. The relevant autonomous community has two months to provide an alternative housing solution for the tenant or to assume responsibility for the case, thereby bringing the legal process for non-payment to an end.
If the administration fails to act within that period, the proceedings will be suspended until the obligation has been fulfilled. In this scenario, compensation is available to private individuals and legal entities involved in affordable housing rentals.
The decree further specifies that the state will compensate the autonomous communities for the costs associated with fulfilling these obligations, excluding any late-payment interest arising from delays attributable to the autonomous community itself.
According to the preamble to the decree, evictions resulting from mortgage foreclosures fell by almost 70% between 2019 and 2025 compared with the period 2013-2018, while evictions linked to Spain's Urban Leasing Act (LAU) declined by almost 50%. Nevertheless, the government argues that Spain's commitments to the United Nations Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights require stronger safeguards to ensure that no person without an alternative housing solution is evicted.
