Briefing
On 1 October 2026, the leadership of Junts per Catalunya officially announced that it would not validate the two recently issued executive Emergency decrees on housing policy. The texts were due to be brought before the Congreso de los Diputados on 2 October 2026. Junts instead called for them to be withdrawn and for new, more far-reaching proposals to be drawn up through the ordinary legislative process.
According to published reports, the decrees include temporary restrictions on sales by investment funds, expanded protection against eviction for particularly vulnerable households, and changes to the duration and renewal of rental contracts. Junts criticised the proposals for not sufficiently curbing the influence of large property companies and for leaving certain wording unclear—for example, on inherited tenancies. The party therefore announced it would vote against them unless the texts were revised.
Other opposition parties, such as Partido Popular, Vox and UPN, also said they would oppose the measures; the Coalición Canaria indicated that it was open to talks, but set conditions for supporting them in the parliamentary process. Government sources, meanwhile, said withdrawal of the decrees was not an option, pointing out that parts of the measures had already been published in the Boletín Oficial del Estado and were therefore legally relevant. If the Congreso refuses to validate them, the decrees will cease to have effect; the government could then reintroduce individual measures as bills, but would have to take them through the regular legislative process, including debates and amendments.
As of 2 October 2026, the dispute highlights the vulnerability of a minority government that depends on shifting majorities to pass swift measures. Whether and how the government can preserve key elements of its housing policy without parliamentary validation now depends on further negotiations with regional partners.
Editor: Mira Cadena (Article created with AI assistance).