The Council of Ministers today approved the draft Housing Bill. A “pioneering” instrument, as Pedro Sánchez’s government has described it, “with effective instruments to increase the supply of housing at affordable prices, paying special attention to vulnerable people and the areas with the greatest tension in the market.”
Among the housing law’s main measures are proposals to incentivise the sale of empty homes on the market. It would levy a 150% surcharge on the IBI tax on homes that have been empty for more than two years for those owners with a minimum of four houses.
In areas with a “stressed” residential market, the law would establish new “containment mechanisms,” providing tax incentives to lower prices. In this case, local housing administrations (such as autonomous communities) would be able to declare stressed residential market areas for 3 years, extendable annually if the circumstances persist.
When an area is declared as stressed, the tenant may benefit from an extension of the rental contract in force, on an annual basis for a maximum of 3 years, for as long as the declaration lasts.
