Indefinite leases and compensation for tenants: Sánchez's proposals that sparked strong criticism

MADRID.– The "Maricarmen decree" has become a labyrinth with no exit for the Spanish government. After staging a victory at La Moncloa this Tuesday, having agreed on two decrees in the council of ministers with the governing parties, Pedro Sánchez came under attack from allies and opponents alike as the details of the initiatives that Congress will consider this Friday come to light. The socialist government had decided to split the measures into two decrees. The first contains the proposals that generated the most consensus within the governing coalition, and the second is made up of the most controversial initiatives, all pushed by Sumar, the Socialist Party's (PSOE) main ally. The latter decree further strained relations between progressives and conservatives, who will once again make their discontent public in parliament. What does the second decree say? The text indicates that the owner of an apartment must pay the tenant compensation equivalent to 12 months of rent if they do not wish to renew the contract, among other measures. The first decree also includes the automatic renewal of leases for an indefinite period and a price freeze, a combination criticized by experts because it could shrink the real estate market. Podemos and the Tenants' Union consider the proposals insufficient and demand changes before Friday's vote. JOSEP LAGO - AFP From the PSOE, they admitted that parliamentary support for neither decree is yet secured. "Watch the scoreboard during the vote," warn Junts, the Catalan conservative force that is also part of the governing coalition. The Basque Nationalist Party, another government ally, on Wednesday called for "less stick and more carrot" to regulate the real estate market. "Abuses must end and vulnerable people must be protected, but without turning the small property owner into the enemy," said Maribel Vaquero, the Basque nationalists' spokesperson in Congress. Alberto Núñez Feijóo, leader of the Popular Party (PP), took advantage of the doubts raised by the Basques and Catalans to publicly ask them not to support the decree already endorsed by the council of ministers. "If they want to be part of this trap, that's their business. Will young people in the Basque Country have the option of buying an apartment? Will people with low incomes in Catalonia find a landlord willing to sign a contract with them? If these decrees come into force, what legal responsibility and legal effects could they produce?" the opposition leader questioned. Sánchez, this Wednesday, during a meeting with Macron. LUDOVIC MARIN - AFP "Crumbs" and a pot-banging protest The political crisis over access to housing began on Saturday, when the Tenants' Union decided to camp in Sol, in central Madrid, in protest against the eviction of Maricarmen Abascal, an 87-year-old woman who had to leave her home when she could no longer pay the rent increase imposed by an investment fund. The group remains in a mass encampment in front of the seat of the Madrid regional government, and the tents will likely remain there until Friday, when the decrees are considered by Congress. The socialist government hopes that, despite the differences, parliament can approve state intervention in the real estate market at a time of social concern over the issue. They are confident that Maricarmen's eviction and the demonstrations have changed the political landscape and that, for that reason, no one wants to be singled out as the culprit behind politics once again turning its back on a popular demand for better access to housing, especially for young people. But the decrees sent by La Moncloa were also criticized by the Tenants' Union, which considered the government's strategy of splitting the proposals into two decrees a strategy of "chopping up" the measures to leave only "crumbs." "We find it shameful that it was chopped up. It allows society to distrust this progressive government again," said one of the union's spokespersons from Sol. Protesters defending the right to housing camp in Puerta del Sol as the protest enters its fourth day, following a mass demonstration over the housing crisis in Madrid and the eviction of 87-year-old Maricarmen Abascal. Gabriel Luengas - EUROPA PRESS DPA The Tenants' Union announced this afternoon that it will call a pot-banging protest in central Madrid this Thursday to demand the approval of the two decrees. The organization is especially interested in the enactment of automatic renewal of rental contracts. In addition, it called a demonstration for this Saturday in Spain's main cities. "Only the mobilization of thousands upon thousands of people can push toward a general housing strike," they warned in a statement. More criticism of the government's measures came from the left. Ione Belarra, general secretary of Podemos, criticized the fact that the legislation does not contain "a single structural measure" and stressed that, for that reason, they will pressure the socialist government to introduce modifications in Congress. "The decree as it stands is unworkable," said the Podemos spokesperson, repeating the party's demands: expropriating properties from investment funds and banning the tourist use of properties, among others. Meanwhile, real estate market experts warn that this type of measure could cause a boomerang effect and end up complicating a market that has still not recovered from its astonishment at the measures that could be applied. Spain Pedro Sánchez