He Plenary session of the Congress of Deputies approved this Tuesday the taking into consideration of a bill promoted by the Popular Party which pursues a profound reform of the housing market in Spain. The legislative initiative has gone ahead thanks to the support of Vox, Junts and UPNmanaging to overcome the rejection of the left-wing bloc and the abstention of the PNV and the Canarian Coalition. Although, it should be noted that the norm now faces a phase of amendments that makes its final approval difficult.
The proposal aims to streamline bureaucratic procedures for construction. However, the text has generated controversy by including provisions that significantly alter the current social protection framework. According to the popular deputy Soledad Cruz-Guzmán, these changes are essential to “return confidence and legal security to owners, investors and promoters” in the face of what they consider a failure of price control policies.
From the ranks of the right, it is argued that the public administration is the one who must assume the guardianship of citizens without resources, relieving the owners of the properties of this responsibility. Along these lines, the representative of Vox, Ricardo Chamorro, has harshly criticized the current state legislation, describing it as “real disaster”. In his opinion, current regulations have caused “it has reduced supply, skyrocketed prices, turned the owner into an enemy and rewarded the squatter”.
For its part, Junts has justified its support by focusing on the need to unblock urban projects that are currently paralyzed by minor defects. The pro-independence formation has charged against the management of the central Executive, to which deputy Marta Madrenas has attributed a “excessively ideological vision”. According to Madrenas, the problem lies in a “model based on limiting, sanctioning and overregulating” the real estate sector.
Repercussions on vulnerability and eviction thresholds
The core of the reform proposes a technical modification of the criteria to access moratoriums on evictions. Among the most notable points is the reduction of the income threshold to be considered vulnerable, which would go from the current 1,800 euros to 900 euros per month.. This measure would leave out of legal protection a considerable volume of families who until now could judicially delay their exit from a home.
Likewise, the regulations contemplate the elimination of the mechanisms that allow declaring stressed market areas and the elimination of price indices that limit monthly rents. The bill seeks to facilitate companies the “immediate recovery” of their real estate assets through rapid judicial processesalso eliminating the possibility of vulnerable tenants exceptionally extending their contracts for one year.
