The Socialists’ Party of Catalonia and the Republican Left of Catalonia registered a joint resolution on 1 October 2026 in the Parliament of Catalonia Both parliamentary groups call on the Government of Catalonia to set up an independent expert group on tax and housing policy. Working with the Ministry of Economy of the Generalitat de Catalunya it is to submit proposals within three months for reforms to the relevant tax instruments, to make it easier to buy a primary residence.
According to parliamentary sources, the remit is to systematically review the current costs involved in buying an owner-occupied property. The initiative aims to strengthen incentives and assess how effective and well-targeted existing rules are. The resolution is not legally binding; it puts political pressure on the executive, but implementation is a matter for the Generalitat de Catalunya.
The proposal comes amid ongoing debate about the affordability of home ownership in Catalonia. Possible changes to the Property Transfer Tax or targeted benefits for first-time buyers have long been under discussion. The proposed expert group is to bring together and assess options without specifying concrete measures. Any binding changes would have to be debated and voted on by parliament in a second step.
Questions of jurisdiction remain a key risk: while Catalonia has some discretion over certain taxes, other elements of tax law are reserved to the Spanish state. Any subsequent implementation could therefore require coordination with Madrid. It is also unclear how any potential loss of revenue would affect the Generalitat de Catalunya’s budget. The parliamentary groups say social objectives must be reconciled with fiscal sustainability.
At this stage, the expert group’s precise composition and working methods remain undecided. The three-month deadline is intended to ensure proposals are delivered quickly; whether the Government of Catalonia meets it is a political decision. The resolution itself creates no new rights or entitlements for buyers, but it marks a rapprochement between the Socialists and Republicans in the search for measures to tackle high barriers to home ownership in Catalonia.
Editor: Phillipe Schmidt-Araguin (Article created with AI assistance).