Spain’s Prime Minister appears to have gone a step further in his clampdown on rising house prices, proposing a full blown ban on purchasers from outside the European Union buying properties.
Speaking at a political rally in Plasencia, in western Spain, on Sunday, the country’s socialist leader said: “We will propose to ban these non-EU foreigners who are not residents, and their relatives, from buying houses in our country since they only do so to speculate.”
The proposal follows anti-tourism protests in some of Spain’s most popular tourist destinations, including the Balearic and Canary Islands, with locals taking to the streets to decry what they see as overtourism’s role in soaring housing and living costs.
Local communities in popular cities say factors including holiday lets and second homes are contributing to a surge in rental costs that is seeing them priced out.
Residents from outside the EU account for around 23,000 of the almost 700,000 homes bought and sold every year in Spain, Sanchez said.
Meanwhile, a fifth of homes sold in the country are bought by foreigners, many of whom are non-residents.
And according to official figures, the number of Brits registered as living in Spain rose from 276,089 in 2017 to 284,037 in 2023, with 12,470 Spanish property sales involving British buyers that year.
Sánchez’s latest proposed measure comes after he announced on Monday that non-EU residents could have to pay up to 100% on the value of their properties, in addition to other potential moves, in a bid to boost supply and reduce competition that has led to rising prices.
A Housing Ministry source told Reuters that it would be applied through the Property Transfer Tax (ITP) with as many 26,000 second-hand properties in large cities and coastal areas popular with tourists affected.
Sue Wilson, the chair of Bremain in Spain, a group that campaigns to protect the rights of Brits living in Spain, said the new plans were another blow for Brits, saying: “Many British nationals on lower incomes, who had hopes of retirement on the Costas, have already had their dreams shattered [by Brexit].”
“These new measures — assuming they are passed by parliament — will only add to the barriers we face in Europe as non-EU citizens,” she added, as per The Times.
Jesualdo Ros, general secretary of the Alicante Provincial Association of Developers, voiced concerns that the 100% tax will have a knock-on effect for the Costa Blanca, for example by deterring investers from the region.
He also claimed that the properties sought after by non-EU buyers are not the same properties that local people would be buying anyway.
Sanchez faces a balancing act, as tourism is a key driver of its economy, though concerns over gentrification and short-term tourist rentals has become a contentious issue in coastal holiday hotspots, as well as urban areas, The Independent reports.
The PM has said he wants to crack down on people buying Spanish properties “not to live in, but to make money from”.
He said: “The West faces a decisive challenge: To not become a society divided into two classes, the rich landlords and poor tenants.”
However, because of Spain’s deeply divided government, its far from certain whether either of the proposals will become law, with Sanchez often struggling to gather enough votes to pass legislation.
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Publish date : 2025-01-20 22:31:00
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