CATALUNYA is pressing ahead with a plan to ban the speculative purchase of homes after a proposed law took its first steps in the regional parliament.
The measure, which would outlaw property speculation in so-called ‘stressed market’ zones, cleared the first hurdle in the Generalitat, as the Catalan parliament is known, with votes from the socialist PSC, pro-independence ERC, left-wing Comuns and far-left CUP.
However, final approval is not expected until October at the earliest.
If passed, the law would modify Catalunya’s Urban Planning Law to allow local councillors in municipalities defined as stressed market zones to restrict how residential properties can be purchased.
In general terms, homes could only be bought for use as a primary residence or for permanent rent within regulated price limits.
The law is primarily aimed at large investors – defined as those owning five or more properties – who would only be permitted to buy if the property is for their own use, as a second home or if they are purchasing with the intention of renting it out.
Smaller property owners would also face limits.
They could only buy a home if it becomes their main residence, the main residence of a close family member or is rented out long-term under existing rent controls.
Second homes would only be permitted in a different municipality and could not be used for tourist or short-term lets.
If someone inherits a property and does not plan to live in it, they would be required to place it on the long-term rental market.
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For expats and foreign buyers, the new law would not mean a total ban on purchasing property.
However, it would significantly reduce the ability to buy homes purely as investments in popular parts of Catalunya, including Barcelona and other major cities.
Around 90 per cent of homes are located in stressed market zones.
The regional government says the aim is to stop housing being treated as a financial asset and to ensure homes serve what it calls their ‘social function’.
Supporters say the measure is necessary to stop investment funds and large landlords buying up properties, evicting existing tenants and either replacing them with room-by-room rentals or selling for large properties – which critics say is contributing to the region’s housing crisis.
If it becomes law, Catalunya would become the first autonomous community in Spain to ban property speculation.
However, the proposal faces stern opposition from the right, including Junts per Catalunya, the PP, Vox and Alianca Catalana.
The PP have called the move ‘a frontal attack on private property’ and warned that Catalunya is moving towards ‘political control of ownership’.
The law sits within a wider package of housing measures introduced by the Catalan government, including rental price caps, preferential purchase rights over properties owned by large landlords and restrictions on short-term lets.
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