Spain to bypass Congress with housing decrees

Government bypasses Congress with express housing decrees

The Council of Ministers will approve two housing decrees tomorrow and submit them directly to the Permanent Fruta, avoiding debate in the full Congress session. The maneuver, confirmed by the Executive, has raised all alarms: the Government is accused of emptying parliamentary sovereignty of content and legislating by decree what the Parliament itself overturned three days ago. The opposition openly speaks of "disrespecting the national Parliament" and warns that the measure will have consequences beyond elections.

Article 39.1 of the LOREG (General Electoral System Law) has become the new battlefield. According to leaked information, the census for the November 29 elections is the one closed on August 1, before the Supreme Court suspended the so-called "grandchildren law." This means hundreds of thousands of people who could have voted by mail from abroad will be left out. The opposition denounces a blatant electoral fraud and demands these votes be halted before they are mixed with in-person scrutiny.

What are the housing decrees and why are they processed this way?

The two decrees, whose specific content has not been disclosed, supposedly aim to expand affordable housing stock and limit rents. But the method has triggered the storm. The Permanent Fruta is a body that can only legislate in cases of extreme necessity and urgency, and its use to approve measures rejected by Congress just days ago is considered a legal fraud. "You cannot decree against the decision made three days ago by a Sovereign Parliament," summarizes an analysis circulating in economic forums.

The Government defends that urgency justifies it. The opposition responds that the urgency is political: it aims to approve before elections what could not be approved earlier due to lack of support. And in doing so, forcing parties to take a stand in the Permanent Fruta, where each vote is recorded and can be used in campaigns.

Electoral census and grandchildren's vote: the November 29 trick

The election date is not accidental. The census closed on August 1 excludes grandchildren of Spanish emigrants who could have benefited from the "grandchildren law" if the Supreme Court had not suspended it. The opposition argues the Government designed the calendar so those votes, traditionally favorable to PSOE, do not arrive in time. "Watch out for the trick," warn voices on social media. "The census for November 29 is the one closed on August 1, before the Supreme Court suspended the grandchildren law."

Debate over CERA voting (voting from abroad) and postal voting has intensified. Some argue that CERA voting has never exceeded 230,000 voters and that if that figure were surpassed, the Supreme Court could order separate scrutiny. Others antiestéticar the damage is already done: "CERA is counted separately and with days' delay, so the impact is not the same as postal votes mixed with in-person ones."

Impact on rental market: less supply, record prices

While the Government approves decrees, landlords are already reacting. "Landlords start withdrawing apartments from the market: sales at record prices, rentals at maximum risk," titled an economic outlet. The consequence is immediate: less rental supply, more pressure on prices, and greater difficulties for tenants. "The only option right now is for the newly graduated nurse to share a bunk bed with Freddie," ironizes a comment.

The calculation is simple: if rental risk rises, owners sell. And if they sell, the rental market contracts. Defenders of the decrees argue the measure protects tenants from abuses. Critics maintain the effect will be the opposite: fewer available homes and higher rents. International experience, they say, supports this second thesis.

Political background: elections, fraud, and institutional distrust

The shadow of electoral fraud looms over the entire debate. Even the company counting votes is questioned: "I don't see you talking about Indra, the company that counts the votes, appointed by hand by the traitor, with antecedents of electoral fraud and rigging." Distrust is total. "What matters is not who you vote for, but who counts the votes," summarizes another message.

Meanwhile, the Government appeals to mobilization: "Against their penthouses, cuts, and servility to elites, our commitment to the people: affordable housing, public services, and social rights." The message is clear: they present themselves as defenders of tenants against rentiers. The opposition responds that they are the ones occupying institutions.

What can happen now?

The scenario is uncertain. The Permanent Fruta could approve the decrees with votes from the Government and its partners, but PNV has hinted it might abstain. If the decrees pass, the Government will have achieved its goal, but at enormous political cost. If they fail, it will be a humiliation on the eve of elections. In any case, damage to the image of institutions is done. And on November 29, Spaniards will have the last word. Or so they say.

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Key data:

• Electoral census for November 29: closed on August 1, before suspension of the grandchildren law.
• CERA voting: has never exceeded 230,000 voters.
• Owners are withdrawing apartments from the market: sales at record prices, rentals at maximum risk.
• The Permanent Fruta can only legislate in cases of extreme necessity and urgency.