Congress on Tuesday struck down the royal decree that allowed the extension, under the same conditions, of rental contracts that expired before December 31, 2027, for a maximum of two years. The rule had come into effect on March 21 after its publication in the BOE, but its parliamentary validation did not gather the necessary support and was annulled barely four weeks later.
The repeal has opened a period of uncertainty for many tenants who had requested to benefit from the moratorium by sending a registered letter to their landlords. There is no official record that counts how many communications were sent, although a study by the Ministry of Consumer Affairs estimates that there are nearly one million rental contracts that expire before December 31, 2027.
What happens with already submitted requests
The housing lawyer Javier Rubio, from the Center for Social Studies and Advice, maintains that those who activated that right while the norm was in force maintain its effects. His criterion is that the subsequent rejection by Congress does not invalidate the consequences already generated during the decree's validity.
"It doesn't matter that this legislative framework doesn't exist now" - Javier Rubio, housing lawyer at CAES
"If the tenant exercised their right while the rule was in effect, Congress's subsequent rejection cannot invalidate the effects already generated" - Javier Rubio, housing lawyer at CAES
The decree-law was part of the package promoted by the coalition Government to alleviate the tension in the rental market in the context of the economic effects of the war in Iran. With its fall, the limit of 2% on the annual revaluation of rents also ceases to be automatically applied.
The general cap of the Urban Leases Law returns
After the repeal, the update of rents is once again governed by the Urban Leases Law, which stipulates that it cannot exceed the CPI. That index stands above 2% and in March reached 3.4%, so the margin for increases widens again compared to the extraordinary limit included in the rejected decree.
The Executive insists that it does not renounce the housing measures included in that text, which lapsed with the vote against by Junts and the abstention of the PNV. Pedro Sánchez appealed this Wednesday for constructive positions to advance the objectives agreed upon with the investiture partners. In an address at the Bloomberg CityLab forum, he also defended the need to intervene in a market that, in his opinion, is not working.
The Government seeks a new parliamentary agreement
Sources from the Ministry of Housing consider that Junts has opened a window that the Executive wants to take advantage of. Pablo Bustinduy assured that he will do whatever is necessary to respond to the problem, while Isabel Rodríguez showed herself determined to resume conversations with the groups to try to close an agreement. Ernest Urtasun, in the corridors of Congress, limited himself to pointing out that there is room.
Among the formulas being studied are proposals put forward by Junts in mid-April through a non-binding legislative proposal. That package includes fiscal and legal measures with deductions of 15% for purchase, prior savings, and rent aimed at incomes below 33,007 euros, with a maximum annual base of 11,630 euros.
The initiatives also contemplate regulatory changes to broaden the consideration of habitual residence and the creation of a new article in the Civil Code that would allow mortgagors to cancel their debt by paying the same price at which banks have sold that debt to third parties.
For now, Junts sources maintain that no contacts have been made with the Executive regarding these proposals. From ERC they point out that they do not share Junts' recipes, although they advance that they will not vote against any agreed-upon initiative that represents an improvement for hundreds of thousands of citizens of the State.
The Government maintains the forecast of continuing to insist with similar initiatives and admits that the validity of the measures depended on parliamentary validation. The intention now is to activate a new package shortly to try to approve the set and avoid another defeat in the final stretch of the legislature.