The new housing law to come, more of the same and as always unbalancing the landlord/tenant balance.

Spain’s new housing law has been approved after months of disagreement between the government and its parliamentary partners. According to Libre Mercado, the law promoted by Sánchez’s separatist partners includes a series of interventionist measures to limit rental prices, delay evictions and reduce the figure of “large tenant” to those who own only five homes.

Employers and the main players in the real estate market have criticised the repressive model proposed in the Housing Law after learning of the agreement reached between the Government and ERC and Bildu. Alberto Núñez Feijóo’s Partido Popular has also criticised the housing policy and warned that the new law will reduce supply and increase rental prices. The president of the Community of Madrid, Isabel Díaz Ayuso, has said she will appeal the law if it encroaches on regional powers.

Antonio Garamendi, president of the CEOE, has expressed his concern for the right to property, which he hopes will not be invaded, although he acknowledged that he was unaware of the details of the agreement reached. On the other hand, the Asociación de Inmobiliarias con Patrimonio en Alquiler (Asipa) has warned that the limitation of rental prices does not solve the basic problem of renting in Spain, which is the lack of supply. He also criticised the hasty way in which the law has been passed.

The main real estate portals, Pisos.com, Idealista and Fotocasa, have also questioned the new legislation and have pointed out that the real problem of the rental market is the lack of supply. Idealista has detailed that the measures approved so far have only increased the problems of access to renting, especially for the most disadvantaged groups. Pisos.com has stressed that the Housing Law has generated doubts about its effectiveness and that the most controversial aspects of the law will lead to greater instability in the market. Finally, Fotocasa has denounced the fact that the law leaves owners without legal security and does not take into account the long term.

The reality is that what has been approved only takes into account the tenant, which in the end makes the owner decide to rent for the long term. If today, with the current law, in which the eviction of bad payers is already complicated, it looks like they are going to make it more complicated, putting a ceiling on the market, the real estate companies and making it even more difficult for a bad tenant to leave a property in a reasonable time so as not to harm the small tenants.

In short, a populist law that is going to make it so that no one wants to rent in the long term and they are inclined towards holiday or winter rentals.