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PP challenges PSOE over partner’s 30 rental flats

Richard Reid Editor RUSSPAIN.com

Post by Richard Reid

PP challenges PSOE over partner’s 30 rental flats RUSSPAIN.com © russpain.com
PP challenges PSOE over partner’s 30 rental flats © russpain.com

The PP has challenged PSOE spokeswoman Montse Mínguez to debate housing after reports said her partner owns 30 rental flats in Spain. Mínguez says the family business operates legally; the Government says the right to housing is the central issue.

A seven-second PP video shows a banner being hung on the facade of the PSOE’s national headquarters on Ferraz street. Vulture sounds accompany an accusation of hypocrisy.

On October 14, the PP formally called for a “serious and in-depth” debate on housing policy with PSOE spokeswoman Montse Mínguez. The party had also accused the socialists of hypocrisy in a video posted to its social media accounts.

The dispute is unfolding as housing remains a political battleground. A wider campaign account outlines the different approaches taken by the PSOE and PP. Here, attention has turned to the rental business linked to Mínguez’s partner, Sergi Vélez, and reported property holdings. Nest Capital, the group he leads, is based in Lleida. It works in property acquisition and renovation, as well as rental and commercialisation. The properties were reported as linked to companies associated with Vélez’s rental activity, not owned by Mínguez herself.

Artículo 14 reported that the group manages at least 30 flats and apartments, mainly in Lleida. It also reported that Vélez’s holding company has several million euros in property. El Español separately reported that Nest Capital Homes had at least 30 residential properties for rent. The outlet said Vélez had two companies in Panama. Artículo 14 also reported tenant evictions.

El Español estimated annual rental income at about €471,000, with average monthly rent around €1,300. According to elEconomista, Nest Capital Homes had more than €6 million in property investment in its latest accounts filed with the Commercial Registry. The publication also reported that Vélez manages four rental companies and four construction companies.

Speaking on Antena 3 on Tuesday, Mínguez described the business as a family rental company operating within the law. The PSOE said its activity was independent of her political duties. In Catalonia, it is subject to the Housing Law and rent reference prices. Rules for areas under housing-market pressure also apply. The Government has defended the activity as lawful and argued that the central question is who is prepared to guarantee the right to housing.

PP parliamentary spokeswoman Ester Muñoz responded to an October 5 post by Mínguez on X about voting for housing with a pun accusing the socialists of acting like vultures. PP deputy spokeswoman Cayetana Álvarez de Toledo pointed to the name Nest Capital, Vélez’s company, and said that “nest” means a nest in English.

The PP tied its campaign to the Nest Capital name and the reported rental holdings.

The property and tenant-eviction claims remain attributed to the outlets that published them. Mínguez said that “personal attacks are the worst thing in politics.”

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