The Spanish Government will approve a royal decree at its next Cabinet meeting that includes funding to support landlords in cases of unpaid rent, specifically for leases to young people or vulnerable families. The measure was announced by Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez as part of his commitments to honour an agreement with Junts per Catalunya, a Catalan pro-independence party led by former Catalan president Carles Puigdemont.
In an interview with Catalan radio station Rac1, Sánchez said the decree will also facilitate and flexibilise investments by local authorities and councils — one of the measures agreed with Junts to secure their support for his investiture in 2023.
Sánchez explained that it will allow mayors greater freedom to invest in projects that do not involve ongoing operational costs, such as housing construction, water management, and other local infrastructure projects across Spain.
The same decree will also extend the deadline for promoting digitalisation of business invoicing processes, another request from Junts that had not previously progressed.
Junts per Catalunya announced a few weeks ago that it had completely broken off relations with Sánchez’s coalition government, consisting of the Socialist Party (PSOE) and the left-wing Sumar alliance, claiming that “Pedro Sánchez’s legislature is now blocked.” Evidence of this stalemate was the Government’s inability to secure approval in Parliament for the deficit target, a first step in passing new national budgets, after a majority of deputies, including members of the PP, Vox, Junts, and UPN, voted against it.
Support for landlords
Sánchez emphasised that the decree will include funding “to help landlords in cases of unpaid rent for leases to young people or vulnerable families,” directly responding to one of Junts’ demands.
Property experts say this measure is long overdue. “Landlords have never asked the Government for money. They just wanted to rent without fear,” they commented.
The Minister of Housing and Urban Agenda, Isabel Rodríguez, told the Senate that the decree will be approved on 9 December. She explained that “the Government began working on this as a royal decree law months ago and will now finalise it so that it can come into force this year.”
Rodríguez added: “This is about providing guarantees and, above all, preventing rhetoric that fuels fear,” but she avoided giving details on the nature of the guarantees.
When asked about concerns among Sánchez’s left-wing coalition partners, Rodríguez said she was “unaware of any discontent” and stressed that the Government’s actions are determined to guarantee the right to housing. “From building public housing to protecting tenants, the aim is to provide security and peace of mind,” she added.
Fast-track eviction of squatters
Regarding Junts’ other key demand — speeding up evictions of illegally occupied properties — Sánchez said in the interview that “good progress is being made” in the parliamentary process.
In March, the Spanish Parliament approved a bill proposed by Junts to allow evictions of squatters within 48 hours. The law seeks changes to both civil and criminal legislation and received support from the conservative Popular Party (PP) and the Socialist Party (PSOE), though with reservations. The Socialists have indicated they will introduce amendments to the Junts text.
The proposals include reforming the Criminal Procedure Act to strengthen precautionary measures and introduce an urgent eviction order once a complaint is filed. Specifically, they aim to restore possession within 48 hours and prevent delays caused by claims of vulnerability by illegal occupants.
Junts also wants to allow minor offences of unlawful occupation to be prosecuted through immediate trial procedures. Other demands from the party include sanctions for repeat offenders and the declassification of secret documents related to “Operation Catalonia,” as well as a face-to-face meeting between Sánchez and Puigdemont.