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Database of national-level policy measures

Eurofound's EU PolicyWatch collates information on the responses of government and social partners to the COVID-19 crisis, the war in Ukraine, rising inflation, as well as gathering examples of company practices aimed at mitigating the social and economic impacts.

Factsheet for measure ES-2022-14/2248 Updated – measures in Spain

Limitation on rental payments for housing

Limitación a los pagos por alquiler de vivienda (Real Decreto-Ley 6/2022)

Country Spain , applies nationwide
Time period Temporary, 01 April 2022 – 31 December 2023
Context War in Ukraine
Type Legislations or other statutory regulations
Category Measures to prevent social hardship
– Keeping or obtaining a safe home
Author Jessica Durán (IKEI) and Eurofound
Measure added 12 May 2022 (updated 12 March 2023)

Background information

The war in Ukraine has increased economic and political uncertainty, and has led to higher commodity prices. The substantial increase in electricity and gas prices may jeopardise the coverage of companies' liquidity needs and put pressure on the cost and price structure of the economy.

Against this background, the Spanish government has decided to promote the "National Response Plan to the economic and social consequences of the war in Ukraine" (Royal Decree-Law 6/2022 of 19 July). The basic objectives of the measures that make up this plan are to lower energy prices, support the most affected sectors and the most vulnerable groups, and reinforce price stability. The aim is to limit the economic and social costs of this temporary distortion in gas prices and to facilitate the adaptation of the Spanish economy.

This support is additional to other existing support measures within Royal Decree-Law 6/2022 (also described in this database), such as:

Content of measure

Royal Decree-Law 6/2022, which approves the "National Plan of response to the economic and social consequences of the war in Ukraine", contains an extraordinary limitation on the annual update of the rent for the main/habitual residence, avoiding rises of more than 2%. This limitation has been approved to ensure that the evolution of the CPI due to the war is not passed on to the rental price. The aim is to protect tenants from the runaway rise in inflation, which stood at 7.6% in February 2022.

The tenant has the possibility to negotiate with the landlord the increase to be applied in the annual rent update. In the absence of an agreement, the rent may not be updated above the variation experienced by the Competitiveness Guarantee Index (IGC, a price revision rate consistent with the recovery of competitiveness against the Eurozone), currently at 2%. This 2% limit affects annual rent updates that take place between 1 April and 30 June 2022.

Updates

The following updates to this measure have been made after it came into effect.

27 December 2022

Royal Decree-Act 20/2022, (published on 27 December 2022) extends the validity of this measure until 31 December 2023. The 2% cap on rent increases is extended for the whole of 2023.

26 June 2022

Royal Decree-Act 11/2022 (published on 26 June 2022) extends the validity of this measure until 31 December 2022 (Royal Decree-Act 6/2022, March 2022, approved initial validity until 30 June 2022).

Use of measure

There are no estimated number of users. All Spanish citizens living in rented accommodation can benefit from this measure.

Target groups

Workers Businesses Citizens
Does not apply to workers Does not apply to businesses Applies to all citizens

Actors and funding

Actors Funding
National government
No special funding required

Social partners

Social partners' role in designing the measure and form of involvement:

Trade unions Employers' organisations
Role Informed Informed
Form Not applicable Not applicable

Social partners' role in the implementation, monitoring and assessment phase:

  • No involvement
  • Main level of involvement: Peak or cross-sectoral level

Involvement

As stated in the background section, this measure is part of the "National Response Plan to the economic and social consequences of the war in Ukraine", and the involvement of social partners is explained for this plan as a whole.

With the aim of reaching a consensus with all interest groups on the "National Response Plan to the economic and social consequences of the war in Ukraine" (Royal Decree-Law 6/2022 of 19 July), the Government, prior to its approval, held a round of contacts with parliamentary groups, social agents, and the autonomous communities (regional governments). On 21 March 2022, the meeting of the "Social Dialogue Table" was held, following on from the meeting held on 7 March with the President of the Government. The representatives of workers and employers had the opportunity to share their proposals for dealing with the economic impact of the war. On the employers' side, the president of the CEOE, Antonio Garamendi, and the president of CEPYME, Gerardo Cuevas, attended; and on the workers' side, the secretary general of UGT, Pepe Álvarez, and the secretary general of CCOO, Unai Sordo.

Views and reactions

There are no specific views from social partners on this measure in particular. Concerning the "National Response Plan to the economic and social consequences of the war in Ukraine" as a whole, the unions looked at the huge profits of electricity companies as one of the points to act on. CCOO also proposed to the government to intervene and limit the price of the most expensive raw materials, both for companies and households (gas, electricity and fuel).

From the employers' side, Garamendi (President of CEOE) warned about the temptation for companies to contain dividends, as they can generate mistrust and discourage investment. The president of the employers' association expressed his support for the decisions taken by the European Union and the government since the war began, but called for action to be taken quickly to avoid greater consequences.

Sources

  • 29 March 2022: La Moncloa. Presidency of the Government. Agreements and regulations approved by the Council of Ministers (www.lamoncloa.gob.es)
  • 30 March 2022: BOE, Spanish State Official Gazette (Real Decreto-ley 6/2022, de 29 de marzo, por el que se adoptan medidas urgentes en el marco del Plan Nacional de respuesta a las consecuencias económicas y sociales de la guerra en Ucrania) (www.boe.es)
  • 25 June 2022: Royal Decree-Law 11/2022 (boe.es)
  • 27 December 2022: Royal Decree-Act 20/2022 (www.boe.es)

Citation

Eurofound (2022), Limitation on rental payments for housing, measure ES-2022-14/2248 (measures in Spain), EU PolicyWatch, Dublin, https://static.eurofound.europa.eu/covid19db/cases/ES-2022-14_2248.html

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Disclaimer: This information has not been subject to the full Eurofound evaluation, editorial and publication process.