The PNV spokesperson in Congress, Maribel Vaquero, announced this Tuesday that her group will abstain this afternoon in the plenary vote on the decree-law extending rental contracts.
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Vaquero explained, in a press conference, that this abstention is due to “formal and substantive” issues and said that, although she does not doubt that the measure is “well-intentioned,” what is needed to address the housing crisis are “medium and long-term agreements.”
In any case, the validation of the decree was already almost a pipe dream for the Government because Junts ratified its intention to oppose the measures yesterday.
Therefore, the Executive no longer had the necessary support. This suggests that the Congress plenary will repeal the decree-law that allowed rental contracts expiring between March 21, 2026, and December 31, 2027, to be extended for two years and limited annual rent updates to 2%.
Following the line of his spokesperson in Congress, the president of the PNV, Aitor Esteban, criticized that “we have been six or seven years with exceptional measures” in housing matters. “We cannot continue like this, because we must provide security, both to apartment owners and to those who want to rent,” he stated in an interview on Euskadi Irratia.
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Yesterday, the Minister of Social Rights, Pablo Bustinduy, opened a crack for negotiation by assuring that he still sees an agreement with Junts as “possible” and “viable.” In an interview on TVE, the Sumar leader placed the key on the dialogue between the PSOE and Junts and on the Government’s ability 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 freelancers – 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, denied that there was any negotiation underway, and sources from the parliamentary group led by Miriam Nogueras stressed that Moncloa already knows JxCat’s position on housing or in relation to freelancers, 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 set 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 emphasize that with the wording approved a month ago by the Council of Ministers, there will be no vote in favor from their group in any case.
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