Spain is grappling in the Congress of Deputies with two housing decrees: on 2 October 2026, the Minister for Housing and Urban Development, Isabel Rodríguez, appealed to Junts per Catalunya, to approve the Consejo de Ministros adopted by the Real Decreto-ley on 29 September, or at least abstain. She offered to continue discussing the decrees as bills after their approval, so that amendments could be incorporated. According to her, around 90 per cent of the demands put forward by Junts had already been taken into account.
Junts nevertheless reaffirmed its opposition. Parliamentary representatives handed the government their own package of proposed changes on the morning of the sitting and also called for the texts to be withdrawn. Junts’ spokesperson in the Congress of Deputies, Míriam Nogueras, made clear that her party would oppose both decrees and expected new proposals from the executive. The government, meanwhile, says that a Real Decreto-ley already Boletín Oficial del Estado published in the
In the government’s view, the dispute centres on a temporary halt to evictions where no alternative accommodation is available, better protection for tenants, and extended or stabilised tenancy agreements. Opposition critics see these as infringements of property rights and fear negative effects on the supply of rental housing. Rodríguez stressed that the texts were the result of months of work and extensive consultations.
Politically, the vote poses a considerable risk for the minority coalition led by Prime Minister Pedro Sánchezhave been particularly badly affected. In the Moncloa the government stresses that no immediate decision is being taken on early elections. At the same time, it acknowledges that failure to approve the decrees (“convalidación”) could further weaken its ability to govern and force it to seek new majorities on social and housing policy issues. The offer to open the decrees to consideration as bills after approval is intended to give Junts per Catalunya a framework for negotiation without rendering the measures ineffective in the meantime.
The debate on 2 October therefore marks the immediate context: the government’s defence of the Real Decreto-ley, Junts’ official opposition and counter-offer, and the question of whether the plenary approves or defeats the texts. The outcome of the vote and, if applicable, the subsequent legislative scrutiny will now be decisive.
Editor: Phillipe Schmidt-Araguin (Article created with AI assistance).