Sánchez, who last week called the eviction was a “social tragedy,” is now scrambling to contain the situation by vowing to approve a long-delayed housing bill at Tuesday’s meeting of Spain’s Council of Ministers. But crafting legislation that his minority government can get through parliament is proving tricky.
The draft bill must be moderate enough to win the support of the Catalan separatist Junts party, which is conservative on landowners’ rights. But if the legislation is too lenient, Sánchez risks alienating his left-wing allies, accentuating his political isolation in a key election year. The beleaguered prime minister is already facing mounting pressure over the unresolved migrant crisis in Ceuta, as well as a slew of corruption scandals involving family members and close allies.
According to Spanish newspaper El País, a version of the draft text under negotiation on Monday night proposed extending protections against evictions for vulnerable tenants through 2028, capping rent increases at 2 percent in certain cases and offering tax breaks to tenants in rent-stressed areas. Additional measures would seek to ban speculative home purchases by investment funds and potentially raise taxes on short-term tourist flats.
Those proposals fall short of the ambitious action Sumar, the smaller partner in Sánchez’s coalition, is demanding. Deputy Prime Minister Yolanda Díaz on Monday called for the public to mobilize against her own government to ensure the draft bill is “up to task.”
“In this country, rights don’t just fall from the sky,” she said.
The current draft is also unlikely to satisfy the protesters occupying the square, who are demanding the legislation include the automatic renewal of rental contracts, tougher action against abusive landlords and a freeze on rents until the housing crisis is resolved.