Spanish Congress rejects emergency housing decrees as Sánchez weighs snap elections

Defeat on the parliamentary floor

Spain's Congress of Deputies rejected two emergency government decrees designed to regulate the rental market and curb property speculation on Friday. The primary decree included an eviction ban for vulnerable citizens until 2030, restrictions on acquisitions by speculative investment funds, subsidies for first-time home buyers, and tax incentives for affordable construction. It was defeated in the 350-seat lower house with 172 votes in favor and 178 against, after the Popular Party, Vox, and the seven lawmakers of Junts per Catalunya voted as a bloc. A second decree proposing automatic two-year lease renewals for contracts expiring through 2028 and requiring landlords to pay 12 months of rent to break contracts was rejected by 166 votes to 184, with both Junts and the Basque Nationalist Party voting against it. The initial decree had taken effect on Wednesday and had already halted scheduled evictions, including one in Barcelona's Sant Andreu neighborhood.

Political coalition rupture

The defeat leaves the coalition between the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party and Sumar without an assured parliamentary majority. Government sources cited by elDiario.es stated that Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez is evaluating whether to dissolve parliament and call snap general elections for 29 November 2026, ahead of the term's scheduled end in 2027. Officials at the Moncloa palace urged calm and indicated that Sánchez would take the weekend to deliberate on the government's next steps. During floor debates before the vote, Sánchez appealed directly to lawmakers across the aisle to prioritize the needs of vulnerable tenants over party strategy.

Think about ordinary people, about those who most need the protection of public institutions. Think about the millions of young people who cannot afford to move out of their parents' homes. Think about the families living with the constant anxiety of ever-rising rents.

Objections from Junts

Junts per Catalunya rejected the measures on the grounds that the regulatory caps would shrink housing supply and drive rents higher. Party president Carles Puigdemont issued a statement overnight asking the cabinet to withdraw the proposals ahead of the debate scheduled for 11:00 on Friday morning. Junts argued that the proposed rules would prompt property owners to pull residential units off the long-term rental market entirely. In parliamentary remarks, Junts representatives maintained that the legislation did not do enough to restrain real estate speculation.

These decrees still allow speculators to buy property and to evict people.

Street protests across Spain

The parliamentary votes followed days of escalating street protests in several Spanish cities. Activists and residents established a continuous tent encampment at Madrid's Puerta del Sol on Saturday after the televised eviction of 87-year-old Maria del Carmen Abascal on 23 September. Demonstrators gathered outside the lower house on Carrera de San Jeronimo on Friday, banging pots and spoons while chanting demands for an immediate general strike. Tenant unions, including the Sindicato de Inquilinos, organized similar pot-banging demonstrations in Barcelona and Cordoba to demand legislative intervention on rent costs. Following the vote, union representatives pledged to continue street mobilizations.

What was seen today is ridiculous and we do not intend to endure all this.