Government plans to control speculative housing by enforcing residential use when buying property

The Catalan government is planning to curb current speculation in the housing market with a new tax, as announced by cabinet spokesperson Sílvia Paneque in an interview with the Catalan News Agency (ACN).

"As we cannot ban buying property," she said, the government is looking for ways to limit speculative buying. To do so, they will impose new taxes on property purchases if they are not deemed for residential use.

"This is a way of moving these properties to the market that we most care about, which is the rental market," Paneque told ACN after explaining that the government is expecting to have the law ready during the first quarter of 2026.

The law could be enforced in tense housing market zones, such as Barcelona and other municipalities, for a limited period.

Paneque said that the norm cannot "be permanently in place," and that they need to study whether this affects only standalone apartments or buildings as a whole.

Tax incentives will also help avoid selling properties between large property owners who already have a "large number of properties just for speculative reasons, looking for a personal profit and not one that benefits Catalans," Paneque told ACN.

She is aware that while the Catalan government can enforce some of these norms, others will need to be agreed with the Spanish government due to current jurisdictional arrangements.

"Housing in Catalonia has become a right and not a source of anxiety," the spokesperson and housing and territory minister told ACN.

For her, housing needs to be understood as a place to live, not as a business, as has been the case in recent years. She claims that people should not have to focus more than 30% of their income on rent.