The party will vote to ratify the first decree on November 12 but opposes the second, put forward by Sumar. According to idealista, rental listings have fallen in San Sebastián, Bilbao, Vitoria and Pamplona.
The Basque Nationalist Party (PNV) will stand by its decision to support the first housing decree, which the Council of Ministers approved on October 6. The Standing Committee of the Congress of Deputies will vote on the decree on November 12. A spokesperson for the PNV’s parliamentary group confirmed the party’s position to El Mundo: “We’ve already stated our position on the decrees, and it hasn’t changed. We’ll vote in favor of the first decree because it includes measures that are needed.” According to idealista, the supply of rental homes in the Basque Country has fallen by 27%.
The PNV’s support is decisive for the government and its left-wing allies on the committee. The party says the first decree includes measures to regulate seasonal rentals, restrict investment fund activity, cap rent increases at lease renewal at 2%, provide an exceptional two-year lease extension and protect vulnerable people. The PNV continues to oppose the second decree, proposed by Sumar, which provides for open-ended leases. The party calls it “an attack on small landlords” and argues that it is the measure discouraging owners from putting homes on the rental market.
Rental supply is falling
According to idealista, the supply of rental homes has fallen by 27% since late September, when the government approved its initial housing decrees. Congress later struck those decrees down, and the government subsequently approved the measures now in force.
Rental listings in several cities fell faster than the national average of about 19%. Over the past month, listings fell by:
• San Sebastián: 24%
• Bilbao: 21%
• Pamplona: 30%
Vitoria was also among the cities with the steepest declines.
Market sources told idealista/news that “the PNV is voting against the interests of its own voters. And it’s lying to them. The claim that the decree protects owners of two homes is completely false. You only have to read the text, which it seems no one in the PNV has done.”
The Basque Country already has extensive rental regulation
The Basque government, a coalition of the PNV and the Socialists, applies Spain’s Housing Law in areas designated as strained housing markets. It favors targeted price caps through plans drawn up with municipalities. This week, the Basque Parliament rejected an EH Bildu proposal to designate the entire region as a strained housing market.
Sources close to the PNV told idealista/news that “the pressure from the PSOE has been enormous. They even threatened to break up the coalition government currently led by the PNV in the Basque Country if the party voted against the decrees.”