Spain's Congress of Deputies rejected two housing decrees pushed by Pedro Sanchez's coalition government this week, in a vote where the Catalan separatist party Junts joined the Popular Party and Vox in voting them down, sinking the measures in the 350 seat chamber.
The first decree sought to stop evictions of vulnerable people, make real estate speculation harder and offer tax incentives to encourage renting. The second aimed to make primary residence lease renewals automatic at the tenant's request, a measure informally dubbed the "Maricarmen decree" after the eviction of Maricarmen Abascal.
Junts lawmaker Miriam Nogueras justified her party's vote against the measures by arguing that if the government had really wanted to protect tenants, by "reining in vulture funds and reactivating housing," it would have already done so. Pedro Sanchez had appealed directly to lawmakers before the vote, asking them to think "about ordinary people, about those who most need the protection of public institutions."
Health Minister Monica Garcia summed up the government's frustration after the parliamentary defeat, saying "today the right has given rent seeking a parliamentary majority that it doesn't have on the street." PP leader Alberto Nunez Feijoo used the vote's outcome to urge Sanchez to "call elections as soon as possible."
A day after the parliamentary rejection, tens of thousands of people rallied again on Saturday in cities across Spain, including Madrid and Valencia, to demand effective action on the housing crisis. El Diario reported that elections could be called as early as November 29, though Sanchez has not officially announced an early vote. General elections were otherwise scheduled for July 2027 under normal conditions.