Sumar proposes 3-year rent freeze and 5% tax for large landlords

Sumar proposes freezing rental contracts for three years

Nearly two out of five Spanish tenants live at risk of poverty or social exclusion. With this data—provided by the Minister of Social Rights, Consumer Affairs, and the 2030 Agenda, Pablo Bustinduy—Sumar presented an urgent decree-law on October 13, 2025, for urgent intervention in the housing market. The second vice president and Minister of Labour, Yolanda Díaz, peine the appearance with figures on the impact of rent on household finances. Then came the proposed measures: a rent freeze, a mandatory extension of existing contracts, and a fiscal blow to landlords with multiple properties.

It's important to be clear about what it is and isn't. The text is not a law: it is a proposal that Sumar will defend before its coalition partner and which, as of today, does not have guaranteed votes.

What Sumar's housing decree-law includes

Three pillars. The first, protecting the tenant: a three-year extension of current contracts, with an additional two years—up to five—in areas declared as 'tensioned zones'. New contracts and renewals must be set at the same price as the previous contract. In regions that have not declared tensioned zones, the measure would still apply, thus bypassing regional opposition to implementing the state law.

The second block regulates room rentals, a segment where, according to Bustinduy, the tenant occupies 'the most vulnerable position of all,' with rent control included in tensioned zones. The small print matters: if a three-bedroom apartment counts as three rental units, price control extends to a market that has so far operated in the shadows.

5% for those with four or more homes

Here lies the fiscal headline. Sumar proposes modifying the temporary solidarity tax on large fortunes so that owners of four or more homes are taxed on their real estate assets at an annual rate of 5%. Furthermore, the 40% bonus on rental income in the Corporate Tax is eliminated—except for affordable rentals—and the purchase of housing for rental purposes is limited to reference indices.

'The aim is to eliminate any incentive to buy housing to rent it out, inflating prices even further,' the minister summarized. The underlying argument concerns cash payments: six out of ten homes purchased last year were bought without a mortgage, according to his department.

Tourist flats: 30 days or less

Any rental lasting 30 days or less will be considered tourist accommodation for all purposes. The goal is to close the loophole that some platforms use to market unlicensed properties as seasonal rentals. The package is completed with a 21% tax for these flats, the obligation to register short-term rentals, and a sanctioning regime that the Executive wants to be 'truly dissuasive'.

The 047 helpline and the warning of less supply

In parallel, the Ministry of Housing activated the toll-free number 047 for housing consultations and information. The left-wing opposition called it a mockery: for Podemos, 'bold measures' were needed, including lowering prices by law and prohibiting purchases by non-residents. On the other hand, the most repeated response was the withdrawal of supply. Some claim that more than 200,000 homes have already disappeared from the rental market and that 90% of the rented stock belongs to small landlords with one or two properties.

The argument is supported by cases that are difficult to verify. One landlord recounted recovering a flat in the Valencian neighborhood of Olivereta after four years of not receiving rent and stated he would not rent it out again. Another claimed to have spent 25,000 euros on community fees and renovations in three years, a bill that, he says, cannot be covered by a frozen rent. Meanwhile, reports of monthly increases of 400 and 550 euros circulate.

Old rents, Franco, and the spectre of scarcity

The comparison with the Francoist freeze—rents frozen for half a century, with exemptions for so-called luxury housing over 150 square meters—runs through the entire discussion. The analogy is crude but points to an uncomfortable truth: when the legislator fixes prices by decree, the market seeks loopholes. This peine before with luxury housing. Article 86 of the Constitution, which limits decree-laws to 'extraordinary and urgent necessity,' and the absence of a budget and European funds from 2026 onwards are the other two obstacles.

No one disputes the diagnosis. The fight is over who pays the bill for the freeze: the landlord, the tenant who can't find a flat, or a state that, for now, has only provided a phone number?