Catalonia plans to curb property speculation with taxes and residential use requirements

The Govern is considering new fiscal measures to limit speculation. Making the purchase of housing conditional on residential use is being discussed. The political and technical debate is ongoing. Will they be able to change the Catalan property market? Find out the details and next steps.

The Govern de Cataluña is preparing a package of measures to tackle speculation in the housing market. The strategy focuses on two fronts: taxation and urban planning regulation, with the aim of limiting the purchase of properties for speculative purposes and prioritising residential use.

President Salvador Illa has announced in Parliament that the executive will study how to curb the impact of investors and funds on access to housing. The Minister for Territory, Sílvia Paneque, has explained that the actions will include new taxes and the obligation to allocate flats to habitual residence, especially in areas with a tight housing market.

According to Paneque, these measures will be temporary and will be applied where property market pressure is greatest. Some proposals can be implemented by the Generalitat, but others will require agreements with the central government, where there is not full consensus on the feasibility of the changes.

The minister acknowledges that it is not possible to prohibit the purchase of housing, but it is possible to limit its use through conditions and taxation, always prioritising residential purposes. The Govern expects to have the proposals ready between January and March.

The report by legal expert Pablo Feu, who advises the Govern, suggests that a ban on speculation could be applied at different administrative levels, although it does not go into fiscal details. Already in the summer, the Generalitat modified the Impuesto de Transmisiones Patrimoniales (ITP), making it more progressive and raising the rate to 20% for large holders or purchases of entire buildings, as well as removing tax breaks for property companies.

Experts warn that the regional scope is limited beyond the ITP. There is talk of extending taxes to other buyers or increasing them if the property is not used as a residence. Another proposal is to increase the IBI for owners with more than one property, an idea that Barcelona en Comú is considering putting to the Ministerio de Hacienda, although legal reform in Congress is proving complex in the current context.