Catalan president says he will study the option of banning speculative housing purchases

Catalan president Salvador Illa has said that the government will study the possibility of banning speculative home purchases.

CUP deputy Laure Vega demanded actions along these lines and the president assured that he had asked the Minister of Housing, Sílvia Paneque, to study the idea.

A report recently commissioned by the Barcelona Metropolitan Strategic Plan (PEMB) concludes that limiting speculative housing purchases and allowing only one apartment to be purchased to live in is legal in areas with a tense market, underpinned by the Constitution and urban planning laws.

Vega referred to the report in her speech and advocated for moving to definitively ban housing speculation.

She also urged "ambition" from the executive and said people don't want any more "empty promises."

Illa insisted that the administartion will do everything it can to ensure that housing is "a right," but warned that the measure would need to be studied "well and with certainty." 

Vega also called on Illa to limit the number of homes a person can own, citing a population survey that indicates a majority would be in favor of it. Illa responded that the housing department is also studying this issue.