Housing and rentals: the Government tightens the rules, limits speculative property acquisitions and strengthens tenant protections under the new RDL 29/2026 and 28/2026.

The Council of Ministers of 29 September 2026 approved two Royal Decree-Laws on housing and urban leases: the RDL 26/2026 and the RDL 27/2026, which were rejected during their parliamentary ratification process and repealed on 2 October 2026.

Both decrees were subsequently replaced by Royal Decree-Law 29/2026 and Royal Decree-Law 28/2026, respectively, approved by the Council of Ministers on 6 October 2026 and published in Official State Gazette (BOE) No. 249 of 7 October 2026. The present briefing note analyses these new regulations.

ROYAL DECREE-LAW 29/2026

Royal Decree-Law 29/2026, of 6 October, published in BOE No. 249 on 7 October 2026 and entering into force on 8 October 2026 (the day following its publication), without prejudice to specific effective dates applicable to certain measures, amends, among other provisions, Law 29/1994 on Urban Leases (LAU), Law 12/2023 on the Right to Housing (Housing Law), and Law 1/2000 on Civil Procedure (LEC), and also introduces a temporary limitation on speculative housing acquisitions. In addition, RDL 29/2026 introduces tax measures that extend beyond residential leases and affect other aspects of the real estate sector, as well as the creation of a new savings incentive.

KEY FEATURES

In the real estate sector:

• Until 31 December 2028, companies whose corporate purpose is related to real estate activities are prohibited from acquiring residential properties for less than 70% of their appraised market value, except in limited cases with a social purpose.

• Seasonal leases and partial room rentals will no longer be classified as leases for a use other than housing (Article 3 LAU) and will instead fall under Article 2 LAU, becoming subject to Title II of the LAU under a specific temporary regime (new Article 9 bis LAU).

• Temporary housing leases are subject not only to the requirement of a genuine temporary purpose but also to an objective duration limit of between 31 days and twelve months as a general rule; failure to comply without justification, or entering into more than two consecutive temporary contracts between the same parties for the same property, will result in the lease being deemed a primary residence lease (Article 9 bis LAU).

• An extraordinary limitation on rent updates for primary residences is established until 31 December 2027, while rent caps in stressed residential market areas (ZMT) are strengthened for large landlords.

• Tenants are granted, until 31 December 2028, an extraordinary extension of up to two additional years that landlords must accept.

• Taxes associated with the property are excluded from general charges that may be passed on to tenants, unless the tenant is legally liable for such taxes (Article 20.1 LAU). In addition, the prohibition on charging tenants for real estate management and contract formalisation costs is reinforced through the wording "under no circumstances or denomination" (Article 20.2 LAU).

• Until 31 December 2030, a suspension regime is established for evictions involving vulnerable individuals without alternative housing, with different treatment depending on the claimant's profile, as well as an extraordinary mechanism allowing the public administration to assume the tenant's debt in eviction proceedings for non-payment.

• Mortgage foreclosure proceedings and eviction claims must now specify whether the property constitutes the debtor's primary residence and whether the claimant has the status of a large landlord, duly certified through a Land Registry statement (new Article 685.2 LEC).

• A new sanctions regime is introduced for short-term rental platforms that fail to comply with their obligations vis-à-vis the Digital Single Window for Rentals, with fines of up to €1 million or 2% of global turnover.

• The status of large landlord remains applicable to owners of more than ten residential urban properties or more than 1,500 square metres of built residential area, although autonomous communities may reduce this threshold to five or more properties in stressed residential market areas (Article 3.k) of the Housing Law).

• Two ICO guarantee programmes are created: up to €2 billion for developers of social or affordable rental housing, and up to €280 million for industrialised construction projects.

• The TU CASA programme is introduced, consisting of a state-guaranteed interest-free complementary loan aimed at facilitating access to a first primary residence, supported by extraordinary funding of €10 billion.

• In the assignment of mortgage loans to third parties (including investment funds), the borrower may raise against the new holder the same defences and objections available against the original creditor.

• Casa 47 is established as a public business entity, with permanent restrictions on the sale price of its properties linked to the highest regional social housing benchmark, and provisions are introduced governing the large-scale transfer of public assets to its portfolio.

• The Social Impact Housing Fund is created with an endowment of €400 million, and "affordable housing" is legally defined as housing whose cost does not exceed 30% of the municipality's median income.

• All advertisements or offers relating to residential leases must include, among other mandatory information, the rental reference index, the applicable rent cap and, where relevant, the landlord's status as a large landlord.

In the tax field:

• Imputed income from non-rented properties will increase significantly from 2027.

• A new scale of reductions in net rental income from primary residence leases (ranging from 15% to 100%) is introduced, together with a 10% state tax deduction for low-income tenants.

• The Financia Europa Savings and Investment Account and the Financia Europa Long-Term Individual Savings Insurance Plan (SIALPFE) are created, both benefiting from specific Personal Income Tax incentives.

• From 1 December 2026, tourist and short-term rental accommodation including hotel-type services will no longer benefit from a VAT exemption and will instead be subject to the reduced VAT rate.

• Municipalities are authorised to impose IBI surcharges of up to 100% on permanently vacant residential properties, and up to 150% on tourist accommodation located in stressed residential market areas.

• The special tax rate applicable to SOCIMIs on undistributed profits derived from residential leasing or residential-use arrangements is increased to 25%.

ROYAL DECREE-LAW 28/2026

Royal Decree-Law 28/2026, of 6 October, published in BOE No. 249 on 7 October 2026, defers its entry into force until 15 November 2026 and amends the lease extension regime set out in Article 10 LAU.

KEY FEATURES

• Once the statutory minimum lease term has elapsed (five years, or seven years if the landlord is a legal entity), the agreement will be automatically renewed unless either party gives notice of termination.

• If the landlord decides not to renew the lease, the tenant must be compensated with the higher of: twelve months' market rent, or one month's rent for each year of occupancy if this amount exceeds twelve months' rent.

• The new Article 10 LAU also introduces two extraordinary extensions: one of up to one year for tenants in a situation of accredited social and economic vulnerability, and another in stressed residential market areas consisting of annual extensions for up to three years.

• Its application is coordinated with the extraordinary two-year extension introduced under RDL 29/2026, which serves as a transitional regime for leases whose non-renewal had already been notified before 1 October 2026.