Brussels says new EU housing rules create framework for Catalonia to curb speculative purchases

The European Commission’s new Affordable Housing Act creates a legal framework for Catalonia to restrict speculative home purchases, EU Housing Commissioner Dan Jørgensen told the Catalan News Agency (ACN) on Wednesday, while stressing that any new measures will have to comply with EU law.

"What we aim to do is make it possible for national governments and local governments to fight speculative buying up of houses and then not using them as houses," Jørgensen said.

He added that the goal was to ensure authorities "do not have to worry" about breaching EU law when taking measures to address housing pressures.

The Commission presented the proposed regulation on Wednesday.

It would establish common EU criteria for identifying areas under housing pressure and provide a framework for authorities to justify restrictions on short-term rentals and the purchase or use of homes that are not intended as primary residences.

The proposal does not require cities or governments to introduce restrictions, but sets out how such measures would have to be justified under EU law.

Authorities would need to show that restrictions have a legitimate housing-related purpose, are evidence-based, and are appropriate and necessary.

To designate an area as housing-stressed, authorities would have to demonstrate a problem with access to housing.

One key criterion would be for average home prices to be at least eight times average disposable income in the area, with the ratio having risen over the previous 10 years and no improvement expected over the following three.

For short-term tourist rentals, authorities would have to demonstrate that they had negatively affected housing availability or affordability for at least the three years before restrictions were introduced.

Barcelona tourist-flat ban unaffected

The Commission has also clarified that the new rules will not affect Barcelona's plans to stop renewing or issuing tourist-flat licences in the city centre from 2028.

The regulation will apply only to measures adopted after it enters into force.

Existing restrictions will not have to be brought into line with the new EU criteria, although authorities will be able to review them under the regulation.

"Only future measures. It does not invalidate those that already exist," a senior EU official said.

Jørgensen declined to say whether Barcelona’s measure would be considered "proportional" under the new rules.

"Proportionality will have to be assessed on a case-by-case basis. What we're trying to say with this regulation is that the single market rules also apply to housing, when it comes to capital, and to short-term rentals, when it comes to services. So, needless to say, everything has to be justified and it has to be proportionate. That's obvious. But we're also trying to make it viable for those authorities that consider it necessary to apply restrictions," Jørgensen said.

Catalonia’s own bill targeting speculative home purchases is currently stalled after the Advisory Council for Statutory Guarantees warned that its current wording could infringe rights including private property.

The Catalan government has said it wants "maximum legal certainty" before moving ahead with a revised draft.

The EU regulation must still be approved by the Council of the EU and the European Parliament before it can enter into force.