With a snap election called for November and the housing crisis at the centre of voters’ worries, we look at the policies proposed by Spain’s conservative and far-right parties, which polls suggest are favourites to form the next Spanish government.
Events over the past two weeks in Spain have ensured that the housing crisis has been thrust into the limelight, and with good reason.
Access to housing is the main source of worry for Spaniards according to the country’s Centre for Sociological Research (CIS), accounting for more than 41 percent of citizens’ concerns.
The eviction of 87-year-old Maricamen from her lifelong Madrid apartment on September 23rd proved to be the spark that ignited the fire, leading to protests across the country which have intensified following the rejection in parliament of emergency housing measures.
It was the country’s right-wing parties that voted ‘no’ to the housing decrees proposed by Pedro Sánchez’s government.
Now the Spanish premier has called a snap election for November 29th, and the housing crisis will – or should – be the primary source of political debate before Spaniards head to the ballot box.
The two right-wing parties recently crossed the 50 percent polling threshold for the first time in three years amid the political fallout from the Ceuta migrant crisis, suggesting that the bloc may be able to govern with an absolute majority at the next general election.
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Immigration has certainly galvanised support for the parties headed by Alberto Núñez Feijóo and Santiago Abascal, but what would the conservative People’s Party and far-right Vox do differently in terms of housing?
The PP defends a housing policy model based on liberalising the property market by increasing supply through mass construction and granting tax incentives.
They oppose price interventionism such as the rental caps in stressed residential areas introduced by the Socialists.
Similarly, Vox’s housing plan prioritises deregulation, tax relief, and home ownership over direct rental market intervention.
Here is a breakdown of the main policies proposed by both parties according to their housing manifestos:
Build and free up land
The PP claims that under its governance 200,000 homes will be built annually to counteract the supply deficit in Spain.
They propose eliminating bureaucratic obstacles, streamlining building licences through responsible declarations (declaración responsable) documents, and rolling out new urban planning legislation to release land more quickly.
In a similar vein, Vox advocates slashing bureaucracy to free up land faster, the aim being to create as much public housing as possible to increase supply and lower demand.
A recent study by OBS Business School in Barcelona revealed that Spain’s housing deficit of 740,000 units won’t be corrected for another eight years, and only if they build at record rates.
It is also common knowledge that red tape usually takes longer than actual construction in Spain, but could the PP and Vox actually fast-track paperwork in a country where painstaking bureaucracy is so deeply ingrained?
Furthermore, according to their current housing manifesto, a PP in power would transfer public land to private companies to build subsidised housing at set prices, taking as a reference Madrid’s Vive Plan.
Spain has one of the smallest amounts of public housing in the EU, amounting to only 1.5 to 2.5 percent of the total.
Successive PP and PSOE governments over the past decades gradually sold off 2.7 million public housing units to private buyers.
Avoid regulating rental prices
Both the PP and Vox are calling for the current state Housing Law to be scrapped, in particular the changes introduced by the governing Socialists in 2023 vis-à-vis stressed residential areas and the control of rental prices.
They, like many property analysts in Spain, believe that rent caps have only served to worsen Spain’s housing deficit, by encouraging landlords to take their properties off the long-term rental market and look for more remunerative options such as Airbnb.
Measures for young people and vulnerable groups
The PP proposes that the government act as a guarantor for young people who want to get on the property ladder, guaranteeing up to 15 percent of their mortgage in addition to the 80 percent that banks usually grant, which would in theory help people get accepted for an hipoteca (mortage). The ruling Socialists also have something similar in place with the ICO guarantees (avales).
Another measure suggested for under-35s who earn under €30,000 a year would be a €1,000 ‘emancipation’ grant that can go to either their rental or property-buying costs, a move which may seem generous but will make little difference in the current market.
The PP also proposes tax deductions in personal income tax for landlords who rent out their home at affordable prices to young people or people over 65.
As for Vox, they suggest eliminating VAT for first-time buyers, housing loans that are partially forgiven depending on the number of children the families have, and the reimbursement of capital gains and municipal taxes when an owner sells their property in installments to a buyer.
Anti-squatting and eviction proposals
The PP demands the approval of its Anti-Squatting Law, aimed at allowing the eviction of squatters within a maximum period of 24 hours, as well as stricter penalties for squatting and the creation of specialised police units dealing with okupas (squatters).
Vox also demands legal reforms to achieve immediate evictions of squatters.
The Socialists argue that Vox and PP’s focus on squatting exaggerates a problem that statistically affects only a very small portion of the national housing stock, although for many Spaniards current squatting legislation doesn’t protect owners enough.
Both right-wing parties have also expressed their outright rejection of the government’s moratoriums or “anti-eviction shields”, which gives little hope to those who find themselves in the same situation as evicted 87-year-old Maricarmen.
Housing priority for Spaniards
A policy of national priority has been pushed by Vox over the past year in regional and local governments where the far right governs along with the PP, which has somewhat begrudgingly agreed to such measures.
The idea is as simple as it is controversial: to give priority to Spanish citizens over foreigners, including European Union citizens, in areas such as social benefits, social housing and certain public services.
READ ALSO: What is the Spanish right’s ‘national priority’ policy for Spaniards?
Santiago Abascal has demanded that Spaniards get first dibs for protected housing, rental properties and property purchases.
Only foreigners who can prove a number of years of residence in Spain would be eligible, and irregular migrants would be completely barred from renting homes.
Vox has consistently blamed the rise in immigration in Spain over recent years for the country’s housing problems.
How about measures against vulture funds?
The recent housing protests have been largely focused on so-called vulture funds, large investment firms which buy Spanish properties for cheap to then rent them out for a high profit.
What led to Maricarmen’s eviction was that the flat she’d lived in for 70 years was bought by a fondo buitre, which quintupled her rent to €2,650 and took her to court when she was unable to pay.
READ MORE: How vulture funds are worsening Spain’s housing crisis
Left-wing political parties such as the ruling PSOE criticise the PP’s housing model, arguing that it revives policies based on real estate speculation, and allows investment funds to operate freely.
However, it’s worth noting that Vox has proposed establishing a differentiated tax system that penalises the massive purchase of real estate by non-EU buyers, even though it generally supports the idea of an unregulated market.
