A good book on housing is by Javier Gil, Generación inquilina, published by Capitán Swing. It is because it is written in plain language and grounds some of the forecasts that Saskia Sassen and Richard Sennett had made in the case of post-bubble Spain. The author explains that the contradictions in housing matters in the Western world begin with the neoliberal policies of dispossession of the working class, with a battery of decisions that favored rampant speculation and the preference for the accumulation of wealth, which reversed the trend of stable rents towards the purchase of housing for investment. He connects it with the well-known theses of Thomas Piketty: when housing is an investment good, it becomes inaccessible to the majority and patrimonial income grows above labor income.However, in addition, Gil quantifies the magnitude of the tragedy in Spain: after 2007, investment funds such as Blackstone, Lone Star, Oaktree, Deutsche Bank, Goldman Sachs or Cerberus bought hundreds of thousands of homes from Spanish banks. Blackstone, Cerberus and Lone Star alone acquired 450,000 homes in Spain in a few operations. The giant Blackstone has bought large volumes of apartments in Spain, while in the rest of the world it has more diversified assets. This deserves a study, because, simultaneously, many local developers have been lost.Meanwhile, the State allocated 72 billion to the bailout of banks, and 51 billion for the creation of Sareb. Gil asks an important question: what would have happened if the largest mobilization of public funds in history had been used to buy the homes obtained through evictions?

The Ministry of Social Rights, Consumer Affairs and the 2030 Agenda sent a letter this Monday to large real estate companies and investment funds to inform them that the contracts of their tenants that expire between March 22, 2026, and December 22, 2027, must be extended as long as they request it. The text sent by the government was addressed to thirteen large holders who concentrate more than 100,000 homes throughout Spain, as reported by the ministry led by Pablo Bustinduy. Thus, the letter reminds these companies that the extension of rental contracts will be mandatory once the tenant requests it, according to the recent royal decree-law approved by the Council of Ministers, which currently does not have sufficient parliamentary majority to be validated in Congress the recent royal decree-law approved by the Council of Ministers and which for the moment does not have a sufficient parliamentary majority to be validated in Congress.

The countdown to the vote on the decree with housing measures approved by the Spanish government to face the economic impact of the war in the Middle East has triggered a call from social groups and left-wing parties to tenants to demand "now" the extraordinary extension of up to two years of the terms and conditions of the contract in case it ends before December 31, 2027. This is one of the flagship measures of the decree which, pending the result of the vote in Congress, is in force (the temporal limit for it to be voted on is 30 business days from its publication in the "Official State Gazette).

We read in the ARA What are the Spanish government's measures to stop the rise in oil prices, which is causing everything else to go up, with or without cause? It's obvious that the barrels of oil we're consuming today were in the warehouses of the world's powerful elite, and that they raised the price to keep things moving. And it's obvious that the vegetables from overseas that you consume (I avoid them) arrived by plane and ship months ago, and that the cold storage facilities where they were kept months ago were also powered by electricity that hadn't yet become so expensive, triggering this domino effect we half-concocted. The government's measures are to lower the VAT on fuel, gas, and electricity. Amid the usual tug-of-war between parties (now I'm asking for more, so it looks like I'm putting pressure on you, now I can't grant you this so I don't look like a pushover), Sumar has managed to include, for now, "the automatic extension of rent."

The Ministry of Social Rights, Consumer Affairs, and Agenda 2030 has launched an investigation to remove rental listings in designated high-demand areas that violate current consumer protection regulations, the ministry announced in a statement on Friday. "If we can prove the existence of deceptive or unfair practices, the ministry will act decisively," warned Social Rights Minister Pablo Bustinduy (Sumar) at a press conference. Bustinduy declined to name the real estate portals under investigation but indicated they are "the largest." The targeted listings on major real estate portals will be those offering rental apartments at prices higher than those set by law for large landlords, or those that fail to include the price of the last lease agreement offered for the property, if the owners are private individuals, as required by law. In this regard, Bustinduy has once again demanded that the PP apply state regulations to the regions and cities it governs, which would entail the delimitation of high-demand areas. These advertisements, according to the ministry, could be considered violations of consumer regulations as "unfair and misleading practices" and, therefore, carry penalties. The Customer Service Law, which came into effect on December 27, requires real estate portals to publish information in online advertisements for properties located in high-demand areas that allows consumers to understand the parameters used to justify the asking price in accordance with these regulations. These parameters include the price of the last rental agreement under which the property was offered and the applicable rent index for large landlords. The Secretary General for Consumer Affairs and Gambling, Andrés Barragán, recently informed various real estate portals and associations by letter of the legislative changes approved in this law and their responsibilities as intermediaries between landlords and tenants.

The extension of the social safety net currently in force, which expires on December 31, is beginning to take shape. After the Spanish government announced that current subsidies for public transport will be maintained, although the extent and duration remain unclear, EH Bildu has reached an agreement with Pedro Sánchez's government to also extend the ban on evicting vulnerable families without alternative housing throughout 2026. Social movements advocating for the right to housing had been lobbying for weeks to maintain this measure, which was approved during the Covid-19 pandemic. Furthermore, the ban on cutting off basic utilities (electricity, water, and gas) in vulnerable households and the social electricity voucher have also been extended for another year, as announced this Monday by the Basque nationalist party. In a press release, EH Bildu stated, "It values the agreement reached [this Monday] after intense negotiations in recent weeks. [...] It will allow us to continue offering much-needed protection to thousands of people going through a difficult social and economic situation."

The Catalan Parliament on Thursday approved the long-awaited law regulating seasonal and room rentals. The aim of the legislation is to prevent these rental arrangements from being used fraudulently to circumvent the rent cap, which has been in effect throughout Spain since March 2024. The initiative, a first in Spain, was approved thanks to votes in favor from the PSC, ERC, Comuns, and CUP parties. Junts per Catalunya voted in favor of some articles of the law but rejected its core provisions, and, like the PP, had submitted the text to the Catalan Statutory Guarantees Council. endorsed the rule except for one articleRegarding the extension of the officially protected status of apartments in high-demand areas, the final text has strengthened this provision by incorporating several amendments from the sponsoring groups. The PP, Vox, and Aliança Catalana voted against it.

The divide between the two Barcelonas caused by the housing crisis is becoming increasingly profound, accelerating the gentrification of some neighborhoods and the depopulation of others. This is confirmed by the latest report from the Federation of Neighborhood Associations of Barcelona (FAVB), entitled SOS HousingThe study, which found that in 2024 there were more than 600 large speculative housing developments underway in the Catalan capital, affecting more than 11,800 homes, mostly involved families forced to leave their homes due to the expiration of their rental contracts. These developments are part of "the typical operation of buying an entire building, evicting the residents, and renovating to sell at luxury prices," spokespeople stated. The study combines official data (from the Catalan Housing Agency, the Barcelona City Council, and the Barcelona Metropolitan Area) with fieldwork conducted with neighborhood associations. The spokesperson for the FAVB Housing Commission, Jaume Artigues, explained that between the first and second halves of last year, speculative housing developments increased from 477 to 619. Of these, the vast majority (568 transactions) were intended for sale: 30% after new construction and 70% subsequently. In total, according to the report, between 2016 and 2024, approximately 75,000 rental contracts expired without renewal, affecting some 180,000 residents.

Housing is the primary concern of citizens. The rise in prices seems unstoppable. A European Council report reflects the severity of the housing crisis in Barcelona. It is the second city on the continent with the most expensive rents in relation to salaries. Its citizens must spend 74% of their average salary to pay for an apartment in the city center. Only Lisbon surpasses it.

The economic emergency plan to counter the consequences of the war in Ukraine will also include measures to labour laws, housing and protection of the most vulnerable population. The package totals €16bn, €6bn in direct aid and tax rebates and €10bn in state-secured loans. "It is an unprecedented challenge", said the Minister of Economy, Nadia Calviño, in a press conference after the Council of Ministers. These are the details of the new measures.

The outbreak of the pandemic of covid-19 had a direct impact on the rental housing market. Several factors led to an increase in the number of flats for rent in 2020. Among these factors are tourist apartments, which moved into the traditional residential rental market after the tourist industry crashed. Now, however, the situation has gone back to normal. To get an idea of the evolution of rental supply available, in the city of Barcelona, just before the pandemic, Idealista advertising portal had about 12,000 rental homes on offer, a figure that soared to 24,000 in September 2020. Now it has fallen below 10,000.

It has been seven months since the law that regulates the price of rents in Catalonia, the 11/2020, is in force. This law sets a reference index for rents that cannot be exceeded in any of the new contracts that are made in the 60 municipalities where it is applied. But this limit is not being complied with and that is why it has been announced that the first fines will be imposed. The Government has explained that it is finishing a first phase of detection of irregular rentals and has already found 30 punishable contracts. Most of them are for not stating the reference index, which prevents checking if the price exceeds the legal limit. The contracts with violations have been signed in Manresa, Sant Boi de Llobregat, Sabadell, Barcelona, Badalona, Terrassa, Santa Coloma de Gramenet, Sant Adrià de Besòs, Vic, Rubí, Sant Feliu de Guíxols, Lleida, El Vendrell, Reus and Tarragona.