Pedro Sánchez expects Congress to back two housing decrees on Friday. The measures target evictions, speculative purchases and rental insecurity, but the Partido Popular plans to vote against them and the government lacks a guaranteed majority.
On September 29, the Spanish cabinet approved two housing decrees. Congress must now ratify them within the constitutional 30-day period, or they could lose force.
The vote follows the eviction of 87-year-old Maricarmen in Madrid. An investment company bought her home and sought to raise the rent by 275 percent. The case triggered protests in Madrid and other cities.
That changed the debate.
Pedro Sánchez said on Wednesday that he was reasonably confident the measures would pass. He spoke at a press conference with French President Emmanuel Macron and accused Partido Popular leaders of lacking humanity and sensitivity after the party announced its opposition.
The package would also extend by two years rental contracts expiring by December 31, 2028, adding a temporary safeguard for tenants whose agreements are about to end.
The vote will decide whether the decrees stay in force. They took effect after cabinet approval, but they remain temporary without congressional ratification.
The first decree focuses on speculative property purchases and evictions. It would allow the suspension of evictions involving vulnerable people without alternative housing until the end of 2030. An earlier version referred to 2028, but the final protection was extended.
The measure also targets so-called vulture funds. It defines them as companies that buy properties or portfolios of unpaid mortgage loans for less than 70 percent of market value to maximise returns. The decree would stop those funds from buying homes until 2028.
The government has directed its strongest criticism at those investment funds. BBC and Al Jazeera reporting described the dispute as a major test of Sánchez's ability to turn emergency housing protections into binding policy without a guaranteed majority.
Junts left negotiations on September 28. Votes from Podemos and other parliamentary groups therefore became central to the government's plan.
Junts left negotiations on September 28, increasing the importance of votes from Podemos and other parliamentary groups. The government requested an extraordinary Friday sitting, and the decrees could lapse if Congress does not ratify them within the constitutional 30-day period.
The government requested an extraordinary Friday sitting. The decrees could lapse if Congress does not approve them in time.
Madrid's eviction gave the first decree a clear human focus. Maricarmen was removed from her home last week after the investment company sought the steep rent increase. Protesters then set up a camp in central Madrid. The action spread to other cities and became a symbol of the wider tenant movement.
The second decree was due to appear on Thursday in the Boletín Oficial del Estado. El País reported that it would provide for automatic renewal when rental contracts expire.
A landlord seeking to end a contract would have to pay the tenant at least 12 months of rent. The main exceptions would cover cases listed in the decree, including the owner's need for the property or the need of a close relative.
Tenant unions have demanded automatic renewal for months. Their protest camp in Madrid increased pressure on the government. The wider package also addresses short-term rentals and rooms.
The right opposes the renewal measure. Sánchez has presented the issue as a matter of humanity rather than ideology. He has pointed to people facing eviction and people unable to rent or buy a home.
The PP says Sánchez's government has failed to stop housing prices from rising since it came to power in 2018.
The numbers remain difficult.
Sánchez's government needs support beyond its own camp. The PP is preparing to reject both decrees, while Junts's withdrawal has made the votes of Podemos and other groups more important.
The measures do not resolve Spain's housing crisis. They are temporary emergency decrees, not permanent legislation. One deals with speculative acquisitions and evictions. The other covers rental renewals and compensation.
The Madrid case explains why the vote has moved beyond technical regulation. Sánchez has placed the human cost at the centre of his argument. Friday's result will show whether that argument can overcome the government's lack of a majority.
