Madrid challenges national housing decrees as Ayuso unveils regional business deregulation bill

Legal challenge over parliamentary procedure

Madrid Regional President Isabel Díaz Ayuso announced on Tuesday that her administration will use all available legal instruments to challenge the central government's housing decrees if they are validated through the Permanent Deputation of Congress. Speaking at the 29th National Congress of Family Business in Madrid, Ayuso stated that taking the measures to the interim parliamentary body constitutes an evasion of the legislature after lawmakers rejected an earlier version of the text the previous week. She described the maneuver as an action against the Constitution, the rule of law, and private property.

We are going to use all legal instruments within our reach if they are ultimately validated through some kind of trick, such as taking them to the Permanent Deputation behind the back of the Chamber, of common sense, and of the Constitution itself.

Central government housing package

The legal dispute follows the Council of Ministers' approval of two royal decrees containing a package of 21 housing measures. The central government turned to the decrees after Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez called snap general elections for 29 November 2026, a decision prompted by the defeat of the earlier housing bills in Congress. Because the Cortes Generales are dissolved ahead of the vote, the decrees must go before the Permanent Deputation, where the ruling PSOE-Sumar coalition holds a majority that does not require votes from Junts. Sánchez defended the legislation from La Moncloa, pointing to a 10 billion euro financing line providing zero-interest loans of up to 50,000 euros for first-time home buyers.

I believe these are measures of pure common sense that increase supply and give stability to tenants and owners, which begins to bring order to a dysfunctional market and requires intervention by public authorities.

Regional deregulation bill in Madrid

Alongside her opposition to the national housing policy, Ayuso presented a regional bill against hyperregulation, scheduled for review by the Madrid Governing Council on Wednesday. The proposal introduces a one-in-one-out regulatory rule, requiring every new administrative burden on businesses to be offset by removing an existing obligation of equivalent cost. It also limits the entry into force of new business obligations to two fixed dates per calendar year (2 January and 1 July) to prevent sudden compliance demands.

Administrative streamlining and business reaction

The regional draft includes sunset clauses for administrative rules to avoid obsolete regulations persisting by inertia, alongside dedicated regulatory test spaces and the expansion of the regional Investment Accelerator. Ayuso cited past deregulation efforts under Madrid's open line against hyperregulation, which she said had modified 738 rules, including the regional Land Law. Instituto de la Empresa Familiar President Eloi Planes closed the conference by calling for calm during the upcoming election campaign and urging political forces to seek state pacts on core economic challenges once election results are known.

Electoral controversy within the opposition

Earlier on Tuesday, Ayuso prompted controversy during a visit to a horticulture fair at Ifema by questioning the integrity of the upcoming general elections and urging citizens to avoid mail-in voting. National leaders within her own People's Party, including party president Alberto Núñez Feijóo, Madrid Mayor José Luis Martínez-Almeida, and national spokesperson Borja Sémper, refrained from backing her statements. Sémper noted that the Spanish electoral framework is a system with full guarantees and encouraged voters to participate normally.