The new amendment to the law on seasonal rental contracts has been overturned.

Junts (Independtentist party of Cataluña) finally joined the PP, Vox and UPN to reject in the Plenary Session of Congress the acceptance of the bill presented by the PSOE’s left-wing partners, which sought to amend the Law on Urban Leases in order to limit seasonal and room rentals.

Although the Catalan representatives had previously announced their intention to abstain, in the end they chose to vote against. This left the result of the vote with 172 votes in favour, coming from PSOE, Sumar, ERC, Bildu, PNV, Podemos, BNG, Coalición Canaria and José Luis Ábalos (former Socialist MP now in the Mixed Group), against 178 votes against.

The proposal proposed a reform of the Law on Urban Leases, with the aim of putting temporary contracts on a par with those for permanent housing, in order to discourage their abusive use, avoid fraud that circumvents the Housing Law and control the continuous rise in prices.

In order to offer greater legal security, the initiative included seasonal contracts in article two of the law, which regulates the landlord’s habitual residence, guaranteeing greater rental protection.

In addition, one of the key points of the reform was the incorporation of a new article nine bis in the Law on Urban Leases, which established that seasonal contracts could not exceed six months.

In the event of exceeding six months or if more than two consecutive contracts were linked, it would be considered a habitual residence rental contract, and the same conditions would apply as for the latter.

On the other hand, the proposal also included a clause allowing the tenant to withdraw from the temporary contract, provided that at least one month had passed since its commencement, giving ten days’ notice to the landlord, without this implying a right to compensation.