Green light to housing law affecting 24,000 large owners in Galicia

The Law on the right to housing it is already a reality. He Senate yesterday approved the rule by an absolute majority, without any changes to the text that came from Congress, so it will not have to go back to the House of Commons and will come into force after it is published in State official gazette, which will happen in the next fifteen days, the Ministry of Urban Agenda explains. The norm was approved with 134 votes in favor (PSOE, ERC, EH Bildu and parties of the Confederal Left), 117 against (PP, PNV, Junts per Catalunya, Cs, Vox and UPN, among others) and one abstention.

These are the main innovations brought by the standard.

rents

Price regulation, with a limit on the increase. The law extends the cap on rental income increases for another year (which is 2% in 2022 and will be 3% next year). From 2025, these restrictions are lifted, as a new reference index will be applied to review leasing contracts, which will replace the CPI, so that volatile products, such as food, rise.

Declaration of large landowners and stressed areas. In addition to these general increase limits for all contracts, the law allows for the declaration of rent-at-risk areas, which will be those where average housing costs plus basic housing needs exceed 30% of household income or where purchase prices or rental prices have risen at least three points above the CPI- and in the previous five years. The declaration of areas under stress will remain in the hands of the autonomous communities, which have recognized competence in housing matters, and which, in the case of those governed by the PP, such as Galicia or Madrid, have already shown their opposition to the use of this legal figure.

In these stressed areas, rental contract prices will be limited, regardless of whether the property owner is a small or large home owner. In the first case, the price must not be higher than the one from the previous contract. In the second, it might even be forced to lower it, because the upper limit will be determined by applying the reference price index.

But what makes a great homeowner? The new law defines such companies or persons who own more than ten urban properties for residential purposes (excluding garages and storage rooms) or five if these properties are located in the same burdened area.

According to the Galician Federation of Real Estate Companies (Fegein), if the scale of ten properties, which is general, is applied, there are around 24,000 large owners in Galicia, the majority in the provinces of Pontevedra and A Coruña (with 7,527 and 7,132 respectively, compared to 6,474 in Ourense and 2,933 in Lug). If the five estates are taken as a reference, the number of large landowners in the community would rise to 59,000, although it must be taken into account that many of them would not fall under that definition, either because they do not have their estates in one stressed area or because they Xunta never declares.

Taxes

Incentives for rent in income tax and IBI additional fees for empty homes. The regulation introduces new income tax incentives (IRPF) for owners who rent out homes or lower prices to their tenants. In general, a 50% discount will be applied to rents received through a rental, a percentage that will increase to 70% for those who rent their apartment in a stressed area for people under the age of 35, or 90% if the agreement is signed in these areas. contract with a rent reduction of at least 5% compared to the previous one.

If that’s the carrot, the fiscal stick will be for owners who choose to keep their homes empty, as the new law allows municipalities to increase the IBI surcharge, from the current maximum of 50% to 150% depending on it. the time of vacancy and the number of vacant apartments that the person has in that place.

evictions

More legal requirements. In the chapter on evictions for non-payment of rent or squatting, the rule introduces additional guarantees for residents, disqualified by certain agents in the real estate sector and political parties on the assumption that they hinder the recovery of the house. Among them, it is required that in all cases of eviction, the day and time at which the launch will be carried out. In addition, a key role is given to the social service, since no application will be accepted if it is not accompanied by a report from this municipal department that determines whether the tenant is in a situation of economic vulnerability and does not clarify whether the applicant is a large owner of the house. If the property is the beneficiary’s usual residence, is considered vulnerable, and the owner is a large landowner, it will be necessary to go through a mediation process to find alternative accommodation before the application can be processed.

“The foundations of this law were built on the ashes of Hipercor,” says the PP senator

The heated political tone of recent days moved to the Upper House during the five-hour debate on the housing bill. And right-wing groups such as Junts and PNV reiterated their opposition to the law, arguing that it encroaches on powers, creates legal uncertainty, will not lower rental prices, allows illegal occupation and interferes with private property.

PP Senator Pedro Rollán went a step further in his speech, saying that “the foundations of this law were built on the ashes of the Hipercor mall, with 21 dead, four of them children, on the ruins of the Plaza de Dominican Republic in Madrid, where twelve civilians were killed guardsmen, and on the twisted barracks in Zaragoza, where eleven people were killed”.

Urban Agenda Minister Raquel Sánchez intervened for the government, which said the new regulation “doesn’t go against anyone” and offered “cooperation” to real estate developers and private owners. And he emphasized that it is a “legally sound” and “socially ambitious” law, which takes the best of the regulations that have been adopted in other countries. Another promoter of the norm, the minister for social rights, Ione Belarra, promised to implement it “to the last comma”.

“By approving this law, we are taking a transcendental step, because it has been achieved that the right to decent and adequate housing proclaimed in Article 47 of the Constitution goes from a benevolent principle to a legally guaranteed right,” Sánchez said.