The Catalan Parliament has approved the first step of a bill proposed by Comuns to limit speculative home purchases in areas classed as a tense housing market, a designation that covers places where 90% of Catalonia's population lives, according to EL PAÍS. For residents struggling to buy or rent in those areas, the measure matters because it would let town and city councils restrict who can buy homes and for what use.

The proposal was backed in the chamber by PSC, ERC, Comuns and CUP, while Junts, PP, Vox and Aliança Catalana opposed it, according to EL PAÍS. The bill would amend Catalonia's Urban Planning Law so that municipalities can use planning rules to curb speculative purchases in designated high-pressure housing areas.

What the Comuns proposal would change

According to reporting by Demócrata and EL PAÍS based on the parliamentary process, the bill promoted by Comuns would allow purchases in those tense market areas mainly in three cases: to live in the property as a main home, for a direct family member to live there, or to use it as permanent rental housing within the rent caps already set by law.

  • Main residence for the buyer.
  • Housing for a direct family member.
  • Permanent rental use, while respecting existing price limits.

The text also includes a limited exception for a purchase that is not the buyer's habitual home when it is that person's only second residence and it is in a different municipality, according to Demócrata. The proposal would also toughen sanctions by classing both breaches of the restrictions and sham legal transactions designed to dodge them as very serious offences.

"The regulation can be delayed, but it will become a reality," said Susanna Segovia, a Comuns MP, as quoted by EL PAÍS.

Why the bill is being pushed now

EL PAÍS reported that the measure is one of the main housing agreements between the Govern of Salvador Illa and Comuns. The stated aim is to stop practices such as investment funds buying homes, refurbishing them, ending current occupiers' contracts and then reselling at a large gain, or renting rooms individually for higher returns.

David Cid, Comuns' spokesperson in the Catalan chamber, said in June that the project was intended to protect the right to housing and stop residents having to compete unequally with buyers who treat housing as a business, according to EL PAÍS. The party had first registered the initiative on 4 November 2025.

Why a final vote is likely to wait until October

Although Parliament allowed the bill to move forward by the single-reading procedure, Junts and PP have said they will refer it to the Consell de Garanties Estatutàries, Catalonia's statutory advisory body, arguing that it may clash with constitutional rights, according to Demócrata and EL PAÍS. Its opinions are not binding, but that step is expected to slow the process.

EL PAÍS reported that the last plenary sitting currently scheduled before the summer runs from 21 to 23 July, and that the advisory body's opinion is expected later. That makes final approval before the recess unlikely, with the process now expected to slip until October.

What residents can do next

Residents in municipalities already designated as tense housing market areas should now watch the Parliament timetable for the next debate and any amendments, because the bill would give local councils the power to introduce these limits through municipal planning rules if the law is finally approved. The next key political stage is the continued parliamentary processing after the summer, following the expected review by the Consell de Garanties Estatutàries.

People affected by local housing pressure, including tenants, first-time buyers and neighbourhood groups, can also follow statements and votes from their parliamentary group and council, since municipalities would be responsible for applying the restrictions on the ground if the law passes.

Reported by Source Text Link, Ben Pawlowski, By Agencias, Bernat Coll, Lluís Pellicer, Bernat Coll, Laura Casserres Capdevila, idealista.com, Maite Gutiérrez, Ana Moreno, russpain.com, barna.news, Olive Press News Spain.