Spain's Congress gives final approval to its first national Housing Law

On 24 May 2023, Spain's Congress of Deputies, the lower house of parliament, gave final approval to the Law for the Right to Housing. It was the first national housing law since the return of democracy, and it passed after years of negotiation inside the left-wing coalition government of Pedro Sánchez and its parliamentary partners.

The law let regional governments declare "stressed" residential markets, meaning areas where rents or housing costs had risen sharply or weighed heavily on household incomes. In those zones, authorities could limit rent rises and apply tougher conditions to large property owners. The text also set out new rules on public and social housing, on protections against evictions for vulnerable households, and on tax incentives for landlords who lowered rents.

The measure mattered because Spain's constitution gives regions most housing powers, so the state could only set a common framework. Regions governed by the conservative Popular Party said they would not apply the rent limits, and critics argued price caps could shrink supply. Supporters said tenants needed protection from rising costs. The law became the legal basis for later debates over how rooms and seasonal lets are regulated.