Pedro Sánchez's cabinet issued Royal Decree-law 29/2026 on 7 October, letting Spanish town halls raise property tax on a tourist flat by up to 150% when its owner holds four or more. The decree came four days after the Congress of Deputies threw out the government's earlier rental rules. The tax now follows the size of the owner's portfolio, not the flat.
A Royal Decree-law (RDL) is an emergency law the cabinet issues; it lapses unless Parliament validates it within 30 days. RDL 29/2026 appeared in the Boletín Oficial del Estado (BOE, the state gazette) on 7 October and took effect the next day1. Town halls collect the IBI (Impuesto sobre Bienes Inmuebles), Spain's municipal property tax. Those in housing markets declared stressed under Spain's 2023 housing law may add 50% to it on a tourist-let home, rising to 100% for owners of two or more2. The decree also sets a 25% levy on the undistributed letting profits of SOCIMIs, Spain's listed property companies.
The seasonal-let rule returns with it. A temporary lease again needs a provable reason the tenant is away from home, and the landlord carries the burden of proof. The government first promised that rule in June, and regional laws such as Navarra's still prevail over it. Anyone taking a furnished flat for a few months on remote work needs a lease that states why they are away from their usual home. A companion decree, Royal Decree-law 28/2026, introduces successive renewals from 15 November. Terms are five years, or seven for corporate landlords, unless either party gives valid notice3.
Barcelona's economy commission approved a surcharge on 9 October, and the plenary gave initial approval on 15 October, with final approval due in December4. About 6,000 of the city's roughly 10,600 tourist flats belong to owners of four or more, and the council expects €7m to €8m a year. The PSC (Catalan Socialists), Barcelona en Comú (former mayor Ada Colau's left party) and ERC (Catalan Republican Left) voted for; the Partido Popular and the hard-right Vox voted against. Junts, the Catalan pro-independence party whose votes sank the earlier decrees in Congress, abstained. Apartur, the tourist-flat operators' association, will sue if December's vote confirms the surcharge; director general Marian Muro called it "disproportionate"5.
The Confederación de Sindicatos de Inquilinas, the tenants' unions, has called a 24-hour housing general strike for 11 November, backed by Spain's two largest union federations, the UGT (Unión General de Trabajadores) and CCOO (Comisiones Obreras). "We are very pleased that the two unions with the most members have stood beside a movement that has been on the streets for two weeks," said Alicia del Río, spokesperson for the Sindicato de Inquilinas e Inquilinos de Madrid6.
The decree may not live long enough to bite. Sánchez announced on 5 October that he was dissolving the Cortes Generales, Spain's two-chamber Parliament, for a general election on 29 November7. Both decrees now need validation by the Diputación Permanente, the standing committee that sits between parliaments. There the Partido Popular, Vox and Junts hold 34 of 69 seats, one short of a majority, and Congress has not formally fixed the date of the vote8. Barcelona's ordinance rests on a power that exists only in RDL 29.
