Who does the Catalan government want to prohibit from buying apartments from now on?

BarcelonaThere is already an agreement between the Government and the Commons for the 2026 budgetThe sticking point has been the agreement to approve the ban on speculative housing purchases in Catalonia, the condition that Jéssica Albiach's party had set this time to negotiate the budget. The proposal, which would only need the votes of the PSC and Comuns to pass, stems from an initiative that the Comuns party had already registered in the Catalan Parliament and proposes modifying the urban planning law to empower municipalities to prohibit non-residential housing purchases in areas with a tight housing market. This is a path that has received the unanimous endorsement of the four experts hired by the Government to study it, and the Spanish government has also welcomed its progress. Who will be affected by this ban if it is approved?

To begin with, the agreed-upon proposal limits the restriction on buying housing to large property owners and companies (with the exception of social entities). Large property owners are defined as those with five properties in the same high-demand area, which in Catalonia comprises 271 municipalities where more than 90% of the population lives. Owners in this category who want to buy to rent will only be able to do so if they acquire an entire building and put it all on the regular rental market, complying with the price index established by law. The objective is to prevent the fragmentation of property ownership, which could lead to some residents experiencing real estate pressure when a company wants to acquire an entire building, and also to prevent individuals from having to compete with companies—which have greater resources—when they want to buy an apartment.

One of the concerns raised by this regulation is its potential impact on housing rehabilitation. It's important to remember that companies have the greatest financial resources to acquire apartments that are unrentable in their current condition, with the aim of renovating them and then putting them back on the market. If the regulation agreed upon by the Government and the Commons goes ahead, they will not be able to do this with individual apartments (only with entire buildings, acquisitions that the Government and the Commons... They already agreed last year to record more with a 20% ITP (Tax on Production and Services).However, Albiach has been emphatic in stating that rehabilitation must be a public policy: "Our rehabilitation cannot depend on vulture funds." Large individual property owners who wish to acquire another property to move to will be able to do so, but they will have to prove to a notary that this is the purpose of the purchase. Furthermore, they will be required to confirm this within twelve months by registering their address at the new property, a period that can be extended for six months for justified reasons (for example, a construction project that is prolonged). Owners with fewer than five apartments

What happens to private landlords who own fewer than five apartments? The law will allow them to acquire properties and rent them out, provided they respect the price cap set for high-demand areas. This has not pleased the Landlords' Union, which considers it a "loophole" in the regulations. "Regarding blogs, there are no guarantees that they will provide stability for tenants and lower prices. If this is truly a law against speculation, it must guarantee that if someone buys an entire apartment building where tenants live, new contracts will be drawn up with price reductions at that time," they warned. On the other hand, small landlords will be able to buy houses for relatives up to the second degree of consanguinity. The law also does not place problems on second homes: individuals, whether small or large landlords, will be able to buy them in a different municipality from their primary residence. This differs from the CUP's proposal, which has also registered its own bill against speculative purchases that would not allow such practices. In statements made this Thursday, CUP deputy Laure Vega requested that her initiative be taken into account when working on the proposal in the Catalan Parliament. The Catalan Government and the Comuns party have agreed that the text will be processed through a single reading, with the aim of approving it before the summer. Regarding inheritances, one can receive an apartment, but only if it is for personal use, if a family member lives there, or if it is rented out. It will not be permitted to leave it empty, as Albiach clarified, or to visit it for only "one week" a year. All these rules refer to the individual, not the family unit, so it is possible for a family to own more than one second home if they are registered in the names of several individuals. In any case, the law would not have retroactive effects.

Catalonia currently has its own regulations on vacant housing and legislation that provides for sanctions against large property owners who do not use their properties, with the ultimate possibility of expropriation. The agreed-upon reform incorporates a strengthening of the sanctions regime of the urban planning law. Failure to use the property for its declared purpose, the simulation of legal transactions, or fraud by circumventing the status of large property owner will be penalized as "very serious" offenses. Sanctions can reach up to 1.5 million euros.

Local councils, key

The final key to the regulation's implementation will lie with the town councils, the only entities that can decide whether to approve urban development plans that would enforce the veto. The Comuns are aware that this means leaving the final decision in the hands of the municipalities, and that, therefore, the measure's effectiveness will depend on who governs in each place. However, a path has been left open for organized civil society groups such as neighborhood associations or other entities: they can present the measure at plenary sessions to, at least, exert pressure for the town council to approve it. Albiach has called for a "common front" of the PSC, Comuns, ERC, and CUP in the municipalities to pressure those governed by Junts and the PP. One of the priorities of the negotiations has been to try to secure a reform that is legally sound in the face of possible appeals to the Constitutional Court. This is why they are resorting to urban planning regulations, which are the exclusive competence of the Generalitat (Catalan government). Former Constitutional Court Justice and former Professor of Constitutional Law, Carles Viver Pi-Sunyer, endorsed this intervention in property rights through this channel, in one of the four reports produced by the working group of the Catalan Government and the Comuns party. "It is a historic agreement that positions Catalonia as the first territory in the State to halt speculative purchases," Albiach emphasized. Sources within the Spanish government also celebrated the agreement and the Catalan Government's "determination" to preserve the "social function" of housing.