Spain Premier Aims to Ban Non-EU Citizens From Buying Homes
(Bloomberg) -- Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez will propose a ban on people from outside the European Union buying homes in the country, part of a broader attempt to confront a housing shortage.
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The government “will propose prohibiting non-EU foreigners from buying houses in our country, when neither they nor their families live here and therefore they are speculating,” Sanchez said Sunday at a Socialist Party rally.
He said non-residents from outside the EU bought some 23,000 houses and flats in Spain during 2023 — still a fraction of the current estimated shortage.
Sunday’s statement takes a recent announcement by Sanchez a step further. On Jan. 13, the premier said he wanted to limit non-EU citizens without Spanish residence from buying houses, and would charge a 100% tax on purchases.
The moves to limit and potentially prohibit foreign acquisitions is part of an attempt to fight a growing housing crisis.
In his earlier comments, Sanchez announced a 12-point plan that included building more public housing, offering financial guarantees for young tenants, and increasing taxes on short-term holiday rentals.
Spain’s shortage of affordable housing has become a central discussion point, with all major parties rolling out proposals to boost construction and tamp down soaring prices, including in the capital, Madrid.
Sanchez said that Spain was seeing a shortfall of about 200,000 new houses every year based on current demand.
British citizens, the biggest group of buyers from outside the EU, would be the most affected by any change. They largely acquire holiday homes or retirement properties on Spain’s coast.
Madrid has also seen a surge of wealthy Latin American buyers in recent years purchasing high-end property in the capital.
Either proposal by Sanchez — taxing purchases at 100% their value, or an outright ban — would require approval from parliament and that’s far from certain. Sanchez leads a minority coalition government and has struggled to pass laws in recent months.
(Updates with detail throughout.)
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