Spain’s government says it will intervene “more” in the housing market, “with the full force of the law”, if it wins the general election on 29th November.
Why this matters
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez called a snap election for 29th November 2026 after his minority government lost key parliamentary votes on housing. The vote wasn’t due until summer 2027 at the latest. His Socialist Party (PSOE) trails in almost every opinion poll, and the conservative Popular Party (PP) is widely expected to finish as the largest party.
What the ministers said
Finance Minister Arcadi España told the TV programme Malas Lenguas that the government would go “further” on housing if it stays in power. He said he hopes Congress’s Diputación Permanente, a smaller committee that acts while Parliament is dissolved, will soon put two housing decrees on its agenda.
Congress rejected these decrees on 2nd October. The government says they are needed to protect tenants, hold down rents, curb speculation and stop evictions.
The government must send the decrees back to Congress by 13th November for approval. Their status differs:
- Decree 1 is already in force. It extends existing rental contracts and bans evictions of vulnerable tenants until 31st January 2030.
- Decree 2 would make rental contracts open-ended. It is unlikely to pass, because the Basque nationalist party PNV, whose votes it needs, has said it will vote against.
A “very ambitious” election platform
Housing Minister Isabel Rodríguez said the PSOE’s election programme will be “ambitious” on housing. She said the government’s credibility depends on explaining both what it achieved and what it couldn’t pass because it lacked votes.
Speaking at a lunch event hosted by the Club Siglo XXI think tank, she said the problem wasn’t a lack of courage: “It wasn’t a lack of courage, it was a lack of votes.” She added that the programme is still being written, and that simply reviewing the government’s record over the past three years would serve as a campaign.
What the Spanish government says it has done
- Raised the housing budget from about €450 million under the previous government to nearly €4 billion.
- Passed Spain’s first national Housing Law and lengthened the minimum length of rental contracts.
- Agreed a new State Housing Plan with Spain’s regions, worth €7 billion until 2030. It commits to keeping publicly funded homes protected.
- Introduced tax breaks for landlords who lower their rents.
“There’s no single solution”
Rodríguez said housing has no single fix and needs cooperation between national, regional and local governments. She said society and the property sector agree on more than the political parties do, and called that gap a “drama” when it concerns something people need as basic as a home.
Protests and a general strike
Asked about the general strike planned for 11th November, Rodríguez said citizens “must always be listened to” and defended their right to protest.
Housing protests have grown since the eviction of Maricarmen, an 87-year-old woman removed from her Madrid home, who later died in hospital. Her case became a symbol of Spain’s housing crisis.
