Spain Puts Forward Revised Housing Decrees Ahead of Snap Election

Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez on October 6 announced two revised housing decrees after Parliament rejected similar measures on October 2, leading him to call a snap election for November 29. Sánchez said the 21 measures "maintain the essence" of the rejected laws and include "some very positive additions." They go to the 69-member Standing Council while Parliament is dissolved. They include extending eviction protections for vulnerable households until end of 2030, regulating room and short-term rentals, curbing speculative real-estate investment, and tax breaks for landlords providing affordable housing. The late-September eviction of an 87-year-old Madrid woman sparked protests, including a camp in Puerta del Sol; a Barcelona demonstration turned violent on October 5 with stone-throwing and trash containers set on fire. Junts, which rejected both original decrees, has one Standing Council seat; Basque PNV, also with one, had backed the eviction-protection decree but not automatic tenant-contract renewal. The Bank of Spain estimates a shortage of about 750,000 homes, possibly 1 million by 2028. People's Party leader Alberto Núñez Feijóo pledged 250,000 homes a year and looser planning if elected. Political scientist Alejandro Quiroga said he did not think Sánchez had an alternative and that sitting back after calling elections to keep focus on housing "wouldn't have been smart." The council's review comes before the November 29 vote.