Spain's Congressional Standing Committee Passes Housing Decree 35-34, Halting Evictions of Vulnerable Households Until 2030, as Rental Renewal Decree Is Rejected
The Permanent Deputation of Spain's Congress of Deputies voted in Madrid on November 12 to approve a housing decree suspending evictions of vulnerable people until 2030 and establishing measures against so-called vulture funds, passing it by 35 votes to 34. The 69-member deputation assumes the functions of Congress while parliament stands dissolved ahead of the November 29 general election.
A second decree voted the same day, which included the automatic renewal of rental contracts and had drawn strong criticism from landlords, was rejected by 35 votes to 34, the reverse result, as on its first examination. The eviction decree that passed had been rejected by deputies in early October, a vote that precipitated Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez's call for an early election. The opposition People's Party, favoured in polls to win the November 29 election, has promised to repeal the housing measures if it returns to power after eight years of left-wing government under Sánchez.
The votes came a day after Spain's first general strike since 2012, called to defend access to housing and purchasing power, in which some 120,000 people marched in Madrid and 55,000 in Barcelona according to official estimates. Housing remains Spaniards' leading concern, with rent or mortgage costs absorbing much of household income and official inflation at 4.9 percent in October. The protest movement grew this autumn after Maricarmen Abascal, an 87-year-old Madrid woman, was evicted from the apartment where she had lived for seven decades and died days later.
Related: Spain's First General Strike in 14 Years Focuses on the Housing Crisis
(Source: Congress of Deputies, Spain)
Source: Congress of Deputies, Spain
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：西班牙马德里街景（资料图）。本站西班牙国家站图库复用（图档 d20261024-gap0800-madrid1.jpg），原图为公共领域/CC 授权图。 / Photo: Madrid, Spain (file photo). GSM Spain country-station library reuse (file d20261024-gap0800-madrid1.jpg); public-domain/CC-licensed original.
