Spanish lawmakers pass country’s 1st-ever housing law

OVIEDO, Spain

Spain’s parliament on Thursday voted to pass the country's first-ever housing law, aimed at making housing more affordable and protecting people from eviction into homelessness.

Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez lauded the bill as one of the government's most “significant milestones.”

"We are leaving behind the neoliberal model that brought speculation and corruption. This new policy is a response to citizens' genuine problems and helps us comply with the constitution, which states housing is a human right," Sanchez told reporters after the vote.

After months of intense negotiations, Spain's minority progressive government secured the support of left-wing separatist parties to pass the bill.

Under the law, rental contracts will be allowed to increase by only 2% in 2023 and 3% in 2024.

It also targets companies or individuals who rent out more than five properties, potentially requiring them to lower rents in certain areas where housing prices have risen too high in recent years. Local governments will determine those areas.

The bill aims to increase requirements for affordable units in new developments, ensure vulnerable people are not evicted into homelessness, and allow cities to penalize owners of vacant homes.

Members of the government's junior coalition partner Unidas Podemos praised the bill as a “significant achievement.”

However, the conservative opposition and many in the real estate industry argue that the new law will backfire by removing rental properties from the market.

"This shows the government's drift toward populism and separatism and involves an intervention in the market and facilitating the illegal occupation of homes," said Popular Party leader Alberto Nunez Feijoo.

Conservative parties have vowed to challenge the law in court, arguing it violates property rights.

The bill still must pass through Spain's senate, but it is expected to pass and take effect before regional elections in May.