The Tribunal Supremo is Spain's highest ordinary court, founded in 1812. Its rulings bind lower courts; constitutional questions are referred to the separate Tribunal Constitucional.

Could the Tribunal Supremo overturn the Congress vote on rent freeze?

The Tribunal Supremo cannot overturn a parliamentary vote, but it can rule on whether tenants' prórroga filings made under the decree before its defeat remain legally binding on landlords.Source: El País

What is Spain's Tribunal Supremo and how is it different from the Constitutional Court?

The Tribunal Supremo is the highest court of ordinary jurisdiction in Spain, handling civil, criminal, administrative and social cases. The Tribunal Constitucional handles constitutional questions. The Supremo issues binding jurisprudence on statutory matters; constitutional challenges go to the other court.Source: nomads-and-communities

Background

The Tribunal Supremo is Spain's highest court of ordinary jurisdiction, sitting above the civil, criminal, administrative-contentious, social and military chambers of the national judiciary. Founded in 1812, it is headquartered in Madrid and issues jurisprudence that binds every lower court in the country. Its administrative chamber is the principal forum for challenges to ministerial and regulatory action; constitutional questions are referred to the Tribunal Constitucional.

The court rules across a wide range of domains: energy and grid regulation, labour disputes, tax, environmental planning, consumer protection, and urban housing. In housing and STR law, the Tribunal Supremo handed down judgment STS 620/2026 on 21 May 2026, partially annulling Royal Decree 1312/2024 by voiding Spain's mandatory national Unique Registration Number for short-term rentals on constitutional competence grounds, while upholding the digital single-window and data-transmission obligations . Regulatory authority for STR registration reverted to the seventeen autonomous communities as a result. Earlier, the court had been flagged as a likely forum for tenants whose prórroga filings entered legal limbo following the 28 April 2026 Congress vote against the rent-freeze extension .

The Tribunal Supremo's significance extends well beyond housing: its rulings set precedents for energy market governance, public procurement, administrative fines, and the boundaries of central versus regional competence across Spain's constitutional autonomy framework. Cases with constitutional rather than statutory dimensions are routinely referred to the Tribunal Constitucional, making the division of jurisdiction between the two courts a recurring procedural question in high-stakes Spanish litigation.