Spain's government is expected to approve two emergency housing decrees today, Culture Minister Ernest Urtasun said — the very measures whose rejection by parliament last week triggered Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez to call a snap general election for November 29.
The decrees include rent caps, a temporary eviction ban and limits on corporate purchases of housing. They would go to a reduced caretaker standing body of 69 members that has a slim majority in favor, taking effect temporarily until a new parliament is formed. Sánchez is expected to hold a press conference after the cabinet meeting.
The snap election call, announced October 5, followed a parliamentary defeat on October 2 and mass housing protests — roughly 70,000 people marched in Madrid on October 3 over rents and evictions, fuelled by the eviction of 87-year-old Maricarmen Abascal. Sánchez says he wants to secure a broader progressive majority, though current polling favors the right.
