PP and Junts will overturn the Sánchez government's social safety net.

MadridFollowing the veto by Junts and the PP on the omnibus decree, the Spanish government has been forced to fragment it to salvage the pension increase and, on the other hand, has introduced measures favoring small property owners by suspending evictions to secure the votes of the PNV and curry favor. "These are all good measures," argued the Spanish government spokesperson, Elma Saiz, downplaying the backtracking that Moncloa has had to undertake on this occasion. after last week's setback in CongressAnd despite what she had previously said, she has separated pensions from anti-eviction measures in an attempt to protect them. However, they are far from guaranteed: while Junts (and also the PP) support the pension increase, and it is guaranteed, both Junts and the PP have already expressed their rejection of the decree that includes the social safety net. Nogueras herself posted a video on Instagram: "Pending reading the fine print, we at JxCat can say that we will vote against extending a measure that not only doesn't solve the problem, but is unfair, because who is paying the price for this social safety net, which the so-called Spanish left is so fond of talking about?" If they ultimately abstain, it would depend on the affirmative votes of Podemos, which opposed the measures to "protect" small property owners that the Spanish government has agreed upon with the PNV.

What changes did the Spanish government make this Tuesday in line with the Basque nationalists? The ban on evicting vulnerable families remains in place in most cases, but there are some exceptions. The main one is that families who fail to pay rent can be evicted when the landlord owns only one or two properties. The decree states that social services will be responsible for finding alternative housing. In Catalonia, for example, they are overwhelmed.

The decree also establishes another exception: in cases where individuals own three or more properties, eviction will not be halted if the landlord is in a vulnerable situation and a prior rental agreement exists. What does "vulnerable situation" mean? It was defined in the first social safety net decree issued in response to the pandemic, and it implies, for all intents and purposes, that the total income of the family unit in the month prior to the application does not exceed three times the monthly Public Indicator of Income for Multiple Effects (IPREM). That is, three times 600 euros, which is the monthly amount for 2026: 1,800 euros gross per month.

Regarding employment, according to sources at the Ministry of Housing, evictions will be halted if the property is vacant or if it involves a vulnerable family and the owner is a company or individual considered a large property owner. If it is a primary residence, legal proceedings to initiate eviction will be activated within 24 hours. Yesterday, the members of the Basque Parliament assumed that some measure would be included within the framework of the social safety net to try to satisfy their demands, and this Tuesday the Basque Nationalist Party (PNV) announced an agreement with the Spanish government. "Small landlords are now allowed to regain the possibility of renting their apartments, preventing further months of non-payment," explained the PNV, who warned of the risk that, until now, the person who owned the property could also become a "vulnerable citizen." Podemos criticizes the exceptions.

As these are two royal decree-laws, they come into effect immediately upon publication in the Official State Gazette (BOE). However, they must be ratified by Congress within a month at the most to avoid lapse. The pension increase is guaranteed, but it is currently unclear what will happen with the social safety net.

They have the support of the Basque Nationalist Party (PNV), but the vote of Junts per Catalunya (Junts) is not assured. Sources at La Moncloa (the Prime Minister's residence) acknowledge that they have not spoken with Míriam Nogueras's party—they have not negotiated directly since breaking off relations in October—but the Spanish government assumed that the measures agreed upon with the Basque nationalists could be acceptable to them. "It's a band-aid," Nogueras has already told La Sexta, an indication that they are far from the "yes" vote the Spanish government was hoping for.

Moreover, even if the members of the regional assembly ultimately abstained, the problem for the Moncloa Palace could come from its left wing: Podemos' general secretary, Ione Belarra, has attacked the exception for small property owners: "Poor things, they only belong to the wealthiest group in our society. Absolutely disgusting." Podemos' Irene Montero also criticized the measure, arguing that it "speeds up evictions," and laments that it's about "protecting landlords and not families." "If you govern by giving in to the right wing, you're surprised when they win," she concluded. One of the concerns expressed by the left is that, with the exception for small property owners, the protection of the 60,000 families who benefited from the suspension of evictions is left up in the air. Sources within the Spanish government haven't provided figures, but they assure that the bulk of the ban will remain in place.

Two separate votes

Sumar, the junior partner in Spain's governing coalition, acknowledges that negotiations with the PSOE in recent hours were "intense" and, in fact, concluded this Tuesday morning during the cabinet meeting, as confirmed by Culture Minister Ernest Urtasun in a statement to the media. The party, led by Yolanda Díaz, is pleased that two royal decrees have been passed: one on the social safety net and another on pensions—at one point, the possibility of three was even considered. For Sumar, unlike Podemos, the changes to the anti-eviction measure are minimal, and they welcome the fact that it goes hand in hand with the rest of the so-called social safety net approved during the pandemic: from the social bonus for vulnerable families to the aid provided after the DANA storm. Thus, they interpret that the PNV and Junts will not be tempted to oppose the other social measures included in the decree-law, although in the case of Junts, they are inclined to reject them as well. The strategy, in any case, also puts Podemos in a difficult position: will Ione Belarra's party oppose the entire social safety net because they disagree with the exceptions for small property owners introduced to appease the other side of the plurinational majority? The answer, at most, will be known in a month's time in Congress, but the outlook is not good for the Spanish government.

The fine print