Congress has reactivated the law aimed at regulating short-term and room rentals, almost a year after it was first accepted for consideration. The proposal, driven by Sumar, ERC, Bildu, Podemos, and BNG, now has a set date for its committee discussion: Tuesday, November 11. This first closed-door meeting will allow parliamentary groups to begin debating and amending the text.
The wait has been long and has not gone unnoticed. The PSOE and its left-wing allies have clashed several times over the delay. Sumar and ERC have publicly expressed their frustration and have spent months urging the Socialists to speed up the process.
The Ministry of Housing has welcomed the law’s progress, insisting that regulating short-term and room rentals is key to curbing the fraud associated with these types of accommodations, especially in large cities. Minister Isabel Rodríguez has called on the parliamentary groups to work together to reach an agreement.
This is not the only new development in Congress. The Ministry of Housing also supports another upcoming ERC proposal: a new tax on property owners who own three or more homes. They argue that taxation is a fundamental tool for fighting speculation and protecting housing’s social function.
The bill under discussion proposes a reform of the Urban Leasing Law. Its goal is to make short-term rental contracts equivalent to standard housing leases, thereby discouraging their use, particularly in areas where prices have skyrocketed.
In addition, landlords will have to justify why a rental is temporary and prove it using the same requirements demanded by labor legislation. Short-term rental contracts cannot exceed nine months to align with the economic cycle. If the contract exceeds that duration or more than two consecutive contracts are signed, it will automatically be considered a standard housing lease, with all the conditions and guarantees this entails, including minimum terms and mandatory renewals.