Catalan parliament rejects decree to regulate temporary rental apartments

The Catalan parliament's permanent committee has rejected the government's decree to regulate temporary rental housing.

Short-term rentals, defined as those lasting more than 31 days without a maximum limit, fall outside the scope of the Spanish national housing law and are exempt from rent caps.

The decree was designed to discourage landlords from exploiting short-term rentals to raise rents by requiring them to specify and justify the purpose of the rental.

The regulation was opposed by pro-independence Junts, far-right Vox, liberal Ciudadanos and conservative People's Party, while the Socialists abstained.

While all parties recognize Catalonia's housing problem, only pro-independence Esquerra, left-wing Comuns and far-left CUP supported the decree proposed by the acting government.

Acting territory minister Ester Capella, the proponent of the decree, claimed that without regulation, speculation is "guaranteed".

The acting Catalan president, Pere Aragonès, said he felt "deceived" by the Socialists and Junts for their rejection. "They come together to turn their backs on one of the people's emergencies," he added in his post on the social network formerly known as Twitter. 

The leader of the left-wing Comuns, Jéssica Albiach, criticized the abstention of the Socialists and warned that regulating rentals will be an "essential condition" for them to support Salvador Illa's bid for the presidency. 

Meanwhile, Alícia Romero of the Socialists said that the decree-law modified "a Spain-wide law, a law that cannot be modified by the Parliament of Catalonia," which was a problem for her party as this "can obviously create legal uncertainty."

Socialists and Junts 'on the side of speculators'

The Tenants' Union criticized the Socialists and Junts for "giving free rein to rent increases" and accused them of being "on the side of the speculators".

"It is an essential decree to prevent abusive price increases, the massive diversion of housing to temporary rentals and 'coliving' and the consequent eviction of entire communities," the union said in a statement. 

The union also argued that the decree had "widespread social support" and warned that prices for temporary rentals "are skyrocketing and displacing entire blocks of neighbors."