New limits are imposed on the increase in rent and allows the figure of large homeowner to be reduced from ten to five properties

MADRID, 17 May. (EUROPA PRESS) -

The Senate has given the 'green light' this Wednesday definitively to the Bill for the Right to Housing, so that the rule is ready for its entry into force, after publication in the Official State Gazette (BOE).

Just before the regional and municipal elections on May 28, the Executive has managed to carry out one of the 'key' laws of the legislature, after months of intense negotiations within the coalition government itself and with parliamentary groups.

During its processing in the Senate, the groups presented more than 300 partial amendments and six vetoes from the PP, the PNV, Junts per Catalunya, Cs, Vox and UPN, which have finally been rejected by the Upper House, so the Law does not it will have to go back to Congress for final ratification.

The PSOE, ERC, Bildu, Más Madrid, ASG, Compromis, Més per Mallorca and Teruel Existe have voted in favor of the Law in the Upper House. The PP, PNV, Junts, Vox, Ciudadanos, PAR and UPN have positioned themselves against, while the PRC has abstained.

The Minister for Transport, Mobility and the Urban Agenda, Raquel Sánchez, took the floor at the end of the debate in the Upper House and began her speech by thanking her team and the formations that have made the approval of this regulation possible. Sánchez has also launched an "express thanks" to the Minister of Social Rights and the 2030 Agenda, Ione Belarra, for her work to promote the Law after months of negotiation.

"We close a path that has been long and difficult. A path of almost three years of intense work carried out in permanent dialogue with the representatives of the affected sectors and with the academic and professional world", the minister celebrated.

Raquel Sánchez has defended that this Law is "legally sound" and takes "the best" of the regulations that have been put in place in other countries. "It is also defined as socially ambitious, since it seeks nothing more and nothing less than to change the traditional orientation of housing policies in our country", she underlined.

This is the first State Housing Law in the history of democracy and is one of the reforms included in the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan and one of the milestones agreed with the European Commission for the disbursement of 'Next Generation' funds US'.

Among other measures, the Housing Law will impose new limits on the rise in rental prices throughout Spain, will allow the figure of large homeowners to be reduced from ten to five properties in certain cases and will prevent these owners from evicting vulnerable tenants without a act of conciliation or prior arbitration.

Specifically, the norm maintains the 2% limit for this year in the rent increase and raises it to 3% in 2024 so that, before December 31 of next year, create a new reference index applicable to the territory outside of the CPI.

On the other hand, the law will allow the concept of large holders to be reduced from ten to five properties and will extend the restrictions for landlords contemplated in stressed areas to individuals.

In addition, the new law introduces a series of measures to make it difficult to evict people in a situation of economic vulnerability, especially when the landlord is a large property owner. In this way, evictions cannot be carried out without a predetermined time and date.

In tax matters, an improvement in the regulation of the Personal Income Tax (IRPF) is established to stimulate the rental of habitual residence at affordable prices, through the modulation of the reduction of the net yield of the rent of habitual residence . To this end, a reduction percentage of 50% is established in the new lease contracts, which may be increased depending on certain criteria --stressed area, rehabilitation...--.

A clear definition is also introduced so that the Town Halls can apply the Real Estate Tax surcharge to those homes that have been empty for more than two years, and provided that the owner has a minimum of four homes in that situation, except for justified reasons of vacancy. temporary.

Likewise, a modulation of the surcharge is established, currently located at 50% of the liquid IBI quota that may reach 150%, depending on the time of vacancy and the number of unoccupied homes of the same owner in the municipal area.

The concept of incentivized affordable housing is introduced, as a necessary figure to increase the supply in the short term. It is about granting tax or urban benefits in exchange for privately owned homes, including third sector entities (associations, foundations), being used for rent at reduced prices for those people whose income level does not allow them to access to a house at market price.

The Law also contemplates the promotion of protected housing for rent at a limited price. A minimum percentage of 50% is established for rental housing within the reserved land for subsidized housing.

In addition, the land reserve percentages for subsidized housing are increased, from 30 to 40% in developable land (new urbanization actions), and from 10 to 20 percent in unconsolidated urban land (renovation or reform actions of the urbanization).

The Law also establishes the creation of the Housing Advisory Council, to ensure the participation of all agents in the preparation and development of housing policies.

It will be a collegiate body of a technical, advisory and consultative nature of the State for the programming of public housing policies, which will be made up of representatives of the different Ministerial Departments with competences related to housing, third sector associations and other associations representing interests. affected by the Law, business and professional representatives, from the financial sector, as well as various expert professionals in the field of housing, from the university field or from research.

The indefinite qualification of subsidized housing is established, always guaranteeing at least a period of thirty years. Some basic conditions are established at the state level that define a regime of permanent public protection of subsidized housing that is promoted on qualified reserve land. In all other cases, a minimum term of disqualification of 30 years is set.

In addition, the role of the registers of applicants for access to subsidized housing and the establishment of objective award criteria is reinforced.