What falls within the scope of the housing decree?

BarcelonaThe Spanish government was forced to divide aid for the war in the Middle East into two parts. The first, with tax rebates on fuels, among other aspects, was already validated by Congress. But the opposition from Junts has derailed the second decree, that of housing, which among other measures proposed extending rental contracts that reached their term by two years and a cap of 2% on rent increases.

The decree, in force from March 22 until now, allowed tenants to extend their contract for up to two additional years if it expired before December 31, 2027. During this period, the agreed conditions were maintained, and a limit of 2% was applied to the annual increase. The measure affects more than one million contracts, according to calculations by the Spanish government.

The rule, however, is immediately repealed. This means that contracts expiring after the vote will no longer be eligible for the extraordinary extension. Landlords will regain full contractual freedom, and will be able to renegotiate conditions, apply increases higher than 2%, or not renew the contract.

For tenants, the impact would be more severe. Those who have not requested the extension before the vote lose the possibility of doing so, and those with contracts nearing expiry will be exposed to higher increases, tougher renegotiations, or even the termination of the contract without alternative.

Legal doubts

The main legal doubt centers on the extensions already requested. Several consumer associations, such as Asufin or the Confederation of Tenants' Unions, maintain that if the tenant requested the extension while the norm was in force, this right is consolidated, even if the decree falls afterwards. For this reason, they recommend making a record of the request by registered mail or certified mail.

Some jurists agree with this interpretation: effects produced while a decree-law is in force are not annulled even if the Congress does not validate it. However, other experts disagree. They consider that allowing an unapproved norm to continue generating future effects would be a “legal irregularity”, and maintain that the extensions could become invalid if the contract expires after the repeal.

The Ministry of Housing and Urban Agenda assured this Tuesday that it will continue working for the dignity of tenants, despite the fact that the "irresponsibility of the right and the extreme right" has prevented the validation of the royal decree that extended rents, ministry sources have indicated. In this regard, the department led by Isabel Rodríguez assures that it will intensify contacts to move forward with the regulation of seasonal rentals and thus put an end to fraud in contracts of less than one year.