Spanish government facing pressure to resolve housing crisis

Isabel Rodríguez, Spain’s Housing Minister, was last month criticised by the left-wing ERC, who accused the government of “turning this into the legislature of speculators, rentiers, and big landlords” by failing to regulate short-term lets, while at the same time pumping money into private markets.

The criticism from the left is relevant because ERC is one the smaller parties whose support has granted Pedro Sánchez’s PSOE a fragile majority in Spain’s parliament. Like other parties on the left, they support rent caps, restriction on holiday rentals and penalties for owners of unoccupied second homes.

However, the presence of conservative-leaning parties such as PNV and Junts in Sánchez’s coalition means that the PSOE has to tread carefully. So far, it has managed to do so, reaching the half-way point of a four-year term earlier this summer.

The Socialists are, of course, also under attack from the right, as the main opposition PP party accuses them of “failure” on housing. The PP’s proposals include financial subsidies for firsttime buyers, laws that favour landlords right to evict squatters and lighter regulation on construction.

Both main parties are calling for a national pact on housing – a measure supported by nine out of ten Spaniards – but both parties want to call the shots in any such pact, and any such agreement seems unlikely in a polarised political situation.

That situation has become even more bitter after recent corruption allegations against former associates of Sánchez, as well as his wife and brother, which have led to opposition calls for his resignation. Sánchez insists the accusations are politically motivated, but they have cost the party several points in recent polls.

Housing is currently the most important issue for Spaniards ahead of immigration, “political problems” and the economy. Sánchez and his minister Rodríguez have less than two years to achieve results in this area, and although immigration has fallen dramatically and Spain’s economy is one of the best-performing in Europe, they are likely to be judged harshly at the polls if they fail.