Congress rejected both housing decrees on Friday, 2 October. The Government plans to approve revised versions on Tuesday, 6 October 2026, while Ernest Urtasun says tenant protections will stay intact.
Congress rejected both housing decrees on Friday, 2 October. The Government plans to approve revised versions on Tuesday, 6 October 2026. Ernest Urtasun has set one condition: none of the agreed protection measures can be weakened.
The texts will return in a different form. The minister of Culture said the changes cannot be used to trade away tenant safeguards. EFE reported that any revisions could only strengthen those protections.
Congress rejected the first housing decree by 178 votes to 172 on 2 October. PP and Vox voted against it, joined by Junts and UPN.
The timetable is tight. The Government wants to approve both real decreto leyes on Tuesday, a day after the announcement. Officials have little time to set out the changes and seek parliamentary support.
The package reaches well beyond extending existing leases. It includes a ban on evictions until 2030 and an extension of current rental contracts until 31 December 2028. It also sets rules for tourist and seasonal rentals.
That is the line Urtasun is drawing.
EFE reported that the minister said the Government would not strike a last-minute deal that reduced the protection measures. The package also addresses housing’s social role and the expansion of affordable supply. It includes restrictions on large investment funds that the Government calls housing "vultures".
The second decree concerned the automatic extension of rental contracts. Congress rejected it by 184 votes to 166, and it remained in force for about 16 hours before lawmakers overturned it, information from RTPA’s account of the official results.
The political problem is clear. The Government must change the texts enough to avoid resubmitting the versions Congress rejected. At the same time, it says every agreed safeguard must remain in place.
The next version will be more than a technical reprint. It will retain the substance of the package while taking a different legislative route back to the chamber.
The defeated measures also covered rent increases and purchases by investment funds. They included tax incentives for landlords and tenants. La Voz de Galicia and other outlets described a housing package that went well beyond automatic lease renewals.
Seven votes from the Catalan party Junts proved decisive on 2 October. PP and Vox had already said they would oppose the Government’s initiatives. Cabinet approval on Tuesday will not guarantee passage in Congress.
Junts remains central.
The earlier defeat exposed the package’s weak position in Parliament, as detailed in this earlier housing report. The new announcement does not change that result. It shows the Government plans to try again almost immediately, while still presenting the protection measures as non-negotiable.
The vote came amid Spain’s prolonged housing crisis. New protests gained force after the eviction of an 87-year-old woman. That pressure helps explain why the Government has decided to return to the issue quickly, even though the parliamentary numbers have not changed.
Congress rejected the decrees on Friday, 2 October. The Government plans to approve revised versions on Tuesday, 6 October 2026.
The precise wording of the revisions has not been provided. Urtasun’s limit is clear: none of the protection measures should be weakened.
The Government is preparing altered texts, not an identical resubmission or a new parliamentary approval. It has promised to preserve the safeguards. The final wording and legal future remain unsettled until Congress votes again.
