Houses along a hillside outside Marbella on the Sunny Coast, Costa del Sol, in Spain.
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Spain plans to impose a 100% tax on homes bought by non-EU residents, as it seeks to address the country's intractable housing crisis.
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez on Monday proposed a package of measures aimed at alleviating a housing shortage, rising rents and rising house prices across the country, as foreign homebuyers and mass tourism are seen as contributing to housing pressures.
Socialist leader Sanchez spoke at a forum on this topic He said that access to housing was one of the main challenges facing the Spanish community There is a danger of division between communities.
He said, “The West faces a critical challenge: not to become a society divided into two classes, the class of rich owners and poor renters,” noting that housing prices in Europe rose by 48% in the past decade, that is, nearly doubling. As family income.
He added: “We are facing a serious problem with enormous social and economic repercussions, which requires a decisive response from society as a whole, especially public institutions.” Comments published by the government.
Head of Government, Pedro Sánchez, speaks during the “Housing, Fifth Pillar of the Welfare State” forum, organized by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Agenda, at the Railway Museum, on January 13, 2025 in Madrid, Spain. During the event, the Prime Minister issued a new announcement on housing, highlighting access to housing as a key issue within the legislature, in light of the escalation of real estate prices, especially in major cities.
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Announcing 12 reforms aimed at tackling the crisis, Sanchez said the government's proposals included a plan to ensure tourist apartments are taxed “like a business” and a proposal to impose a 100% tax on the value of homes bought by non-EU residents.
He said such changes would help make housing more accessible and affordable across Spain.
“Non-EU residents bought 27,000 apartments in Spain (in 2023). They did so not to live, but to speculate, to make money from them, which is something we cannot afford given the scarcity,” Sanchez said. “Housing, the Fifth Pillar of the Welfare State” Forum in Madrid on Monday evening In the comments published by El Perioico and translated by Google.
He added, “The progressive coalition government has always embraced foreign investment, but we want it to be productive, encourage innovation and create new job opportunities, and not serve speculation, as if it were a financial asset or a bank deposit.”
Spain, holiday homes, taxes
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Other measures introduced by SanchezThe Spanish government, headed by the left-wing Spanish Socialist Workers Party and a coalition government that includes the far-left Somar party, has included plans to provide a tax break for landlords who offer affordable rents and more protections for existing tenants.
He announced plans to build more public housing and to ensure existing social housing remains state property. He added that a program will also be launched to renovate empty homes and rent them out at affordable prices.
The Prime Minister did not provide any further details on how the tax would apply to non-EU homebuyers or give any indication of when such proposals could be submitted to Parliament for approval.
Housing shortages and rising prices – and the strong perception that owners of holiday homes and rentals are exacerbating the problem – have sparked a strong public backlash in Spain, as well as unrest in tourist hotspots along the southern coast, the Canary Islands, and in cities including Barcelona and Alicante.
Reports Tourists told to 'go home' Incidents of foreign visitors being sprayed with water pistols have emerged, with local residents urging authorities to tackle “overtourism”.
A tourist takes a photo of a message in Park Guell. Anti-tourism organizers have called for a 50% reduction in daily ticket sales to the site, one of Barcelona's top tourist attractions.
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The Spanish economy depends on tourism to promote growth and job opportunities, as the sector represents more than 13% of the gross domestic product. And about three million job opportunities. In the first 11 months of 2024, the number of international tourists arriving in Spain reached an all-time high, exceeding 88.5 million, according to data from the country's statistics agency. Where are you?.
“Not only is tourism driving consumer spending, rising accommodation occupancy rates are also leading to record investments in hotels,” says Maartje Wivilaars, chief eurozone economist at Rabobank. He said in the analysis Last September.
“We expect Spain’s GDP growth to moderate somewhat in the future, as growth in the tourism sector is expected to lose some momentum. But growth is expected to remain strong and higher than in the euro area in the coming quarters and years, reaching 2.7 % (in 2024), 1.9% in 2025, and 1.5% in 2026.
