To have 100 flats to be a large property holder: the proposals of Som Habitatge at the doors of the strike

• The landlords' association demands "balancing rights and duties" between landlords and tenants: how does it intend to do so?
• Asserts that the housing crisis responds to an increase in demand that has not been accompanied by more supply
• Insists on the negative effects of caps and legal insecurity
• He wants a "cross-party pact" in which housing is not "a political tool", after having forced the calling of elections

With two weeks to go until the strike for housing access, the homeowners' union Som Habitatge has presented fifteen proposals to resolve the serious crisis the country is experiencing. Among others, the association, which defines itself as "the voice of the small owner", has demanded that one must own at least 100 properties to be considered a large holder.

"Spain is a country of small holders: families who have made efforts to have a primary residence or a complementary one as an investment, provision for retirement, or legacy for their children," assured the entity, which brings together some 400 owners, in a statement released this Thursday.

Currently, in Catalonia, large holders are those who possess more than five apartments located in strained residential markets – where 90% of the population lives – or more than ten properties outside these areas. Despite the regulatory change, it was not until this summer that the Generalitat fined three large holders for the first time for breaking the law, more than three years after the entry into force of the state regulation.

Responsibility of the governments

The owners' association has grouped the proposals into four blocks: expanding the supply with land, financing, and construction; rehabilitating and mobilizing the existing stock; "balancing rights and duties" between owners and tenants, and "guaranteeing access to property".

Among others, while on November 11 protesters will demand the reduction of rents in order to align them "with the wage reality of the working class", Som Habitatge continues to advocate for the removal of the caps. They assert that "wherever rent controls have been applied, the supply has been reduced", although, according to the Department of Territory, since the implementation of the measure "the stock of habitual rentals has grown by 20,994 contracts".

During the first quarter, the average rent exceeded 860 euros per month in Catalonia and 960 in the province of Barcelona. Theprice of new contracts dropped by 1.28% in the municipalities where the measure is applied compared to two years earlier, when it began to be applied.

Maintaining "legitimate" residential formulas

According to Som Habitatge, the current crisis is due to an increase in demand, the result of a strong demographic increase and families becoming smaller and smaller, and the lack of accompanying additional supply.

Faced with this situation, for the entity, it is necessary, on one hand, for "more public investment, especially in construction." In this area, it has demanded that town councils release land "quickly and in good locations" to be able to build, increase financing, promote rehabilitation, and correct the tax burden, which "can reach 62%"; Som Habitatge places Spain "among the OECD countries with the highest tax pressure on housing."

On the other hand, it has demanded avoiding the destruction of "legitimate" formulas, such as seasonal rentals for students and researchers, regulated tourist use, and accommodation with residential services. "Eliminating a real need does not make it disappear, it only shifts it to the informal market or expels the affected group," the manifesto warns. In contrast, it agrees that "renting rooms without conditions" is "substandard housing."

The list of measures also includes "concerted rental," a formula by which the owner who rents the apartment at a "moderate rent" must have tax incentives, a public payment guarantee, and intermediation; the "planning" of new models, such as co-living; implementing evictions in a "maximum of two months" in case of non-payment, and promoting the purchase of subsidized housing.

They ask that housing not be "a political tool"

The general director of Som Habitatge, Anna Puigdevall, has warned that "the obligation to guarantee access to housing cannot be transferred to the private owner," but rather that it corresponds to governments. In her opinion, when the regulation places the social function of housing – since 2023, the law stipulates that it must be used for residential purposes – on the owner, "the result is predictable: the supply shrinks and the problem worsens".

While housing is already the number one problem for the population according to the Center for Opinion Studies (CEO), Puigdevall has called for promoting a "transversal pact" and generating "a climate of understanding" in which housing is not understood as "a political tool" and there is no "confrontation".