Spain’s government has postponed a planned royal decree-law on housing that was due to be considered by the Council of Ministers on Tuesday, 28 July. Ministry of Housing sources told EFE that the measure will now be left until September because it lacks sufficient support for ratification in Congress.

For tenants in Barcelona and elsewhere in Spain, the delay means that a proposed two-year rent-price freeze is not being approved before the summer break. According to reporting by EL PAÍS, the draft would have allowed applications for the freeze until 30 June 2028.

Coalition partners divided over the package

The decree was intended to combine measures affecting rental housing and urban planning in an effort to win backing from the parties supporting the government.

  • A proposed two-year freeze on rent prices.
  • Rules covering seasonal lets.
  • Changes to the land law intended to provide greater legal certainty, speed up planning procedures and prevent planning blockages.

However, the parties did not agree on the package. Podemos said the land-law provisions must be removed before it would negotiate on the measures, while the Basque Nationalist Party, PNV, said the reform had to remain in the decree, according to EL PAÍS.

Junts had also not guaranteed its support for the rent moratorium. A previous rental extension measure was defeated on 28 April after opposition from Junts, the Partido Popular and Vox.

Ministry seeks agreement for September

Sources at the Ministry of Housing said the postponement was intended to allow further negotiations towards what they described as a broad, cross-party agreement. The government chose not to put the decree before the Council of Ministers without first securing a majority for the subsequent congressional vote.

“The responsibility and generosity of all groups has brought an agreement closer than at any other point in this parliamentary term,” Ministry of Housing sources said.

The ministry said it would resume talks in September. The proposed decree has not been approved, so its planned rent and land-law measures are not currently in force.

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