Just over 24 hours before a vote considered lost in Congress, the Minister of Social Rights, Pablo Bustinduy, has opened a crack for negotiation. He assured this Monday that he still sees an agreement with Junts as “possible” and “viable” to validate the rental decree, despite the repeated rejection by Catalan separatists in recent days, which seems to condemn the norm to a new parliamentary defeat; a refusal that they maintained this very Monday with no room for maneuver.
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In an interview on TVE, the Sumar leader placed the key on the dialogue between the PSOE and Junts and on the Government’s capacity to assume part of the conditions that Carles Puigdemont’s party has put on the table. Among them, he mentioned the so-called franchised VAT for self-employed workers – a measure linked to the transposition of a European directive that the Executive had already “pre-agreed” with Junts in previous negotiations – as well as “nuances” on the extension of rentals – since the almost two-year automatic extension period, until December 2027, was excessive for JxCat – and “some fiscal measure” that, although it does not fit Sumar’s model, could be accepted to save the decree.
The post-convergents, in turn, deny that any negotiation is underway, and sources from the parliamentary group led by Miriam Nogueras emphasize that Moncloa already knows JxCat’s position on housing or in relation to the self-employed, both regarding franchised VAT and the latest increase in fees approved by the Government, which Junts denounces as being “through the back door.” In fact, a few weeks ago, JxCat already laid out all its housing proposals in a parliamentary resolution, so they consider the ball to be in the central Executive’s court. Furthermore, these sources stress that with the wording approved by the Council of Ministers a month ago, there will be no vote in favor from their group in any case.
With these cards and at this point in the game, the only option to untangle the knot would be for the central Executive to withdraw the decree that is voted on tomorrow and draft a new one that satisfies JxCat. Or that it opts for the new wording once it is confirmed in Congress that the text advocated by Sumar does not have enough votes.
Bustinduy has appealed to “political will” in the narrow margin remaining before Tuesday’s plenary session. He maintained that “conditions could be met” to close an agreement “between now and tomorrow,” even admitting that time is against them and that the negotiation does not depend on his political space. So far, Junts has been emphatic, and Nogueras has repeatedly stated that the decree will not have their support.
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In parallel, Sumar has increased pressure on the socialist wing of the Government to take on direct dialogue with Junts in the last hours. The Minister of Culture and spokesperson for the space, Ernest Urtasun, endorsed this midday the willingness to accept concessions “that are not our model” – such as tax incentives for owners, like deducting mortgage payments as well as rent payments – if they serve to save the extension. Furthermore, he urged to close an agreement “in the time remaining.” The group acknowledges, however, that negotiation is “scarce” and the margin limited, despite the measure affecting nearly three million tenants.
With this scenario, barring an unexpected plot twist, all roads lead to repeal. The decree – which extends contracts expiring between 2026 and 2027 by two years and limits rent updates to 2% – was approved four weeks ago by the Council of Ministers with the support of the PSOE. But it faces an adverse parliamentary majority with PP, Vox, and Junts aligned in rejection. In this context, Bustinduy’s move points more to keeping negotiations open until the last minute than to altering an outcome that, barring a last-minute change, seems impossible given the respective stalemates.
To this must be added another factor. The relationship between Junts and Sumar is not going through a good moment. The broadside from the Second Vice-President of the Government and Minister of Labor, Yolanda Díaz, against JxCat, whom she accused a few days ago of always having a “racist” and “classist” project, caused the post-convergents to announce a complete break with the Government’s junior partner, which in September 2023, before Pedro Sánchez’s investiture agreement, with Díaz at the helm, had acted as an advance guard and had traveled to Waterloo to meet with Puigdemont. The only way to return to the previous state is for Sumar to offer a sincere apology, commensurate with the attack.
In parallel, the Minister of Housing, Isabel Rodríguez, has increased pressure on the groups and warned that it would be “dramatic” if Parliament was not “up to the task” and struck down the measure. Like Bustinduy, the socialist trusts with more faith than arguments that there is still room to reconsider positions, although she admitted that from the beginning she saw it difficult to gather enough support. Rodríguez downplayed the fact that Bustinduy is defending the decree in the plenary session and framed the struggle within the logic of a coalition government, while also warning that the text’s failure would open an “unexplored legal scenario” for tenants who have already requested the extension.
