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Decided on Tuesday, published in the BOE on Wednesday, brought into force on Thursday – and blocked by Parliament on Friday: Spain’s far-reaching housing reform has had an unusually short life. The Congreso refused to grant the necessary approval to both decrees.
It took just four days for Spain’s new housing reform to go from being approved by the Council of Ministers to being rejected by parliament.
On 29 September The government passed two Real Decreto-ley on housing and tenancy policy. The main package, RDL 26/2026, was published on 30 September in the Spanish Official State Gazette (BOE) and came into force on 1 October came into force. One day later, the Congreso refused to grant the required ratification.
The following voted in favour of RDL 26/2026 172 MPs in favour and 178 against. The second decree, RDL 27/2026, also failed because 166 votes in favour and 184 against.
The chronology is unusual:
29 September: The Council of Ministers adopts two decrees on housing.
30 September: RDL 26/2026 will be published in the BOE.
1 October: The package comes into force.
2 October: Congress refuses to confirm the appointment.
In Spain, a Real Decreto-ley may come into force immediately on grounds of particular urgency. However, under Article 86 of the Spanish Constitution, the Congreso must decide within 30 days whether to ratify or repeal it.
In the case of this package, the decision was taken the very next day after it came into force.
Nevertheless, one should not refer to it as „Spain’s shortest law“. There is no reliable historical comparison to support this. What is certain, however, is that: For a legislative package of this scale, its lifespan in Parliament was exceptionally short.
The first decree was wide-ranging. It combined tenant protection with tax changes, measures to curb certain property transactions and measures to increase the supply of affordable housing.
The government was thereby attempting to bring together the various parties within its parliamentary base. However, Junts decided against the package. The Catalan party argued that the measures could further reduce the supply of rental accommodation and, at the same time, did not go far enough in tackling large property funds.
Also The PP and Vox voted against RDL 26/2026. Before the vote, the government had offered to approve the decree for the time being and then allow it to be further debated in parliament. That was not enough to secure a majority.
At the same time, it failed RDL 27/2026.
This second, considerably shorter decree was intended to provide greater protection for long-term residential tenancy agreements and to make it easier to renew them.
This package, too, failed to secure a majority. This means that not only has the major reform package failed, but so too has the attempt to introduce separate new regulations governing the continuation of existing tenancies.
For tenants and homeowners on the Costa Blanca, the most important consequence is clear from the outset: The new provisions set out in RDL 26/2026 are not intended to be permanent.
This means that the new regulations, which had only just been introduced, are no longer applicable in cases such as seasonal lettings, room lettings and other tenancy law matters.
Particularly when it comes to holiday lettings, i.e. seasonal lettings, this is relevant. The decree had introduced significantly stricter requirements and imposed tighter regulations on proving a genuine need for temporary accommodation.
Following its rejection by the Congreso, the legal situation prior to this reform now applies once again, unless another existing provision applies.
However, this does not mean that fixed-term tenancy agreements are automatically permissible without any issues. Even before RDL 26/2026, it was crucial that, the actual purpose of the tenancy and whether it is genuinely a temporary stay or, in fact, the person’s habitual residence.
One legally interesting question remains: what happens to contracts, claims or other legal transactions that arose during the decree’s short period of validity?
RDL 26/2026 has been in force since 1 October: the law actually in force. The fact that the Congreso has rejected it does not automatically mean that the decree will be treated retrospectively as if it had never existed.
The consequences that may remain for individual contracts, tax cases or other transactions depend on the relevant provision and the specific circumstances.
Anyone who has signed, extended or amended a tenancy agreement during this transitional period should have the specific legal situation reviewed.
Politically speaking, the issue is by no means settled following the vote.
Following the vote, Junts announced that he would submit his own proposal for a new housing decree to the government. It is therefore likely that at least parts of the reform, which has now failed, will be renegotiated.
For tenants, landlords and property owners on the Costa Blanca, this means, first and foremost: The reform has failed, but the political debate on seasonal tenancies, tenant protection and the housing supply continues.
As at 2 October 2026
Sources: Congress of Deputies; BOE, Royal Decree-Laws 26/2026 and 27/2026; latest voting report dated 2 October 202
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