Three days after Congress voted down two emergency housing decrees, the fallout has moved from the chamber to the streets and the Moncloa. What it means for landlords, tenants and agents on the Costa del Sol.
On Friday 2 October, Spain’s Congress rejected both of the government’s emergency housing decrees. The rental-stability decree (RDL 27/2026) fell by 184 votes to 166, and the broader housing decree (RDL 26/2026) by 178 to 172. Both were repealed, and reports citing the official gazette confirm the repeal.
This is where things stand on Monday morning.
The election clock
The defeat doesn’t legally force Sánchez to call an election, but it has made an early vote a live option. His coalition of the Socialists and Sumar has no majority in parliament, and general elections were not due until next summer.
The calendar matters. According to EFE-based reporting, if Sánchez wanted the earliest possible date, he would have to announce on Monday 5 October. The dissolution decree would then appear in the BOE on Tuesday, with Spaniards voting 54 days later, on 29 November.
His office says no decision has been taken, and government sources said he would take a few days to reflect. The reporting suggests the left is split on the idea. Much of the PSOE and Sumar see a chance to turn street anger against the parties that voted no. The alternative, a fresh decree, carries its own risk of further defeats.
Why it fell: Junts
The decisive votes came from Junts. The Catalan party asked the government to withdraw both decrees and negotiate a replacement behind closed doors, based on its own design. The government refused. Junts then joined the conservative and far-right opposition to defeat both measures.
Junts’s argument is a familiar one. Its spokeswoman said the decrees would push owners to take homes off the rental market and drive prices up further. Opposition lawmakers raised the same fear about rental supply, and the prime minister’s office rejected the claim.
The street response
The decrees were drafted after outrage over the eviction of an 87-year-old woman, who could not afford a sharp rent increase after about 70 years in her home. Her case set off protests across Spain demanding lower rents, an end to evictions and a ban on investment funds buying homes. Rents have nearly doubled in ten years.
On Saturday 3 October, about 50 marches took place in cities including Madrid, Valencia and Barcelona, with tens of thousands taking part. Estimates for Madrid varied widely: the city’s Tenants’ Union claimed 500,000 while officials counted about 70,000. A Valencia tenants’ union spokesperson told the BBC there was “a lot of anger in the streets”.
In Valencia, protesters clashed with police near the arts centre hosting a real estate summit. Spanish media reported that barriers were removed, objects thrown and rubber bullets fired. Public broadcaster RTVE said nine officers were injured and five people arrested.
The Sindicato de Inquilinas says its Puerta del Sol encampment in Madrid will stay, and it is already talking to trade unions about a general strike.
What happens to rental contracts now
With both decrees repealed, the pre-existing rental rules apply. That means no automatic 5/7-year renewals and no 12-month compensation for non-renewal. The previous notice periods and annual tacit renewals are back.
For Costa del Sol landlords, nothing changes today. For agents, the lesson is that the pressure behind this decree hasn’t gone away. Rents on the Costa del Sol remain at record asking levels: Idealista’s September data put Málaga province at €18.80/m² (+5.7% year-on-year) and Marbella at €23.60/m² (+8.7%).
NLS Analysis
Both outcomes now on the table are bad for predictability. An election would push any new housing measure back, while a replacement decree would face the same arithmetic in Congress. Housing is also now a street-level political issue, not just a policy one.
For landlords and agents, the sensible move is to review contract expiry dates and notice periods against the current rules. Any new measure could return in a different form, and likely from a different government.
NLS Conclusion
Friday’s vote ended two decrees. It didn’t end the debate. The next few days will show whether Spain’s housing fight goes back to Congress or to the ballot box.
Sources: BBC, Euronews, Al Jazeera, UPI, Reuters (via CRBC), Infobae, Público, EFE (via La República), France 24, ProtoThema, Brussels Morning, Mundiario, Idealista.
