Spain's Housing Decrees Vote on 12 November 2026: What Is Being Voted On, What Is Already in Force and What Happens to Your Rental If They Fall

12 November 2026 is the expected date on which the Diputación Permanente (the Standing Committee of the Congress of Deputies) will vote on whether to ratify the two housing decrees approved by the Consejo de Ministros (Council of Ministers) on 6 October and published in the BOE (Spain's Official State Gazette) the following day: Royal Decree-law 28/2026, on the stability of rental contracts for a main home, and Royal Decree-law 29/2026, on the social function of housing. Europa Press and other media reported the date on 16 and 17 October; as of 20 October 2026 it is still an expected date.

The outcome of that vote decides whether many rules that have applied to renting since 8 October remain in force, and whether the renewal of contracts for periods of five or seven years ever takes effect. We covered each measure in detail in «Small landlords and Spain's new housing decrees»; here we focus on the timetable: what is being voted on, what is in force, what happens in each scenario and what is worth checking.

What is being voted on on 12 November

A real decreto-ley (Royal Decree-law) is a rule with the force of law that the Council of Ministers approves in urgent cases. It applies from the date it sets itself, but Congress has to ratify it (convalidación) within a very short period. Because the Cortes (Spanish Parliament) have been dissolved after a general election was called, the vote is not held by the full Chamber but by the Diputación Permanente, the body that keeps some of the Congress's powers between one parliament and the next.

This is not the first time these measures have been voted on. On 2 October the full Congress did not ratify Royal Decree-laws 26/2026 and 27/2026, which were therefore repealed, and on 6 October the Council of Ministers approved the two new decrees with very similar content. On 12 November each will be voted on separately, so one, both or neither may go ahead. Under the Rules of the Congress, votes in favour count towards ratification and votes against count towards repeal.

Congress must expressly decide, within that period, on its ratification or repeal.

Spanish Constitution, article 86.2 (our translation)

That period is «the thirty days following its promulgation», according to the Constitution and article 151 of the Rules of the Congress. Counted in calendar days it would end in early November, before the 12th. The difference lies in how Congress counts: its Rules count periods in working days, and the Chamber includes Saturdays but not Sundays or public holidays, starting the day after publication in the BOE. That stretches the period to mid-November, although the press reports that Congress has not specified the exact count for these decrees.

What is already in force and what is not

The two decrees are not in the same position. Royal Decree-law 29/2026 has applied since 8 October 2026, although several of its measures have later dates. Royal Decree-law 28/2026 does not apply yet: its text says it will enter into force on 15 November 2026, three days after the expected vote. This table summarises the main measures as of 20 October 2026:

Sources: Royal Decree-law 28/2026 and Royal Decree-law 29/2026 (BOE, 7-10-2026); Agencia Tributaria, «Main tax changes introduced by Royal Decree-law 29/2026»; Economist & Jurist (15-10-2026) for the date of the plusvalía coefficients. «In force» means it applies today; all the measures of 29/2026, including those already applying, depend on its ratification.

What happens if they are ratified

If the Diputación Permanente ratifies Royal Decree-law 29/2026, its measures continue to apply without interruption and those with later dates arrive: 10% VAT on furnished flats let for 30 nights or fewer and the new plusvalía coefficients from 1 December 2026, the new income tax reduction for contracts signed from December and the new deemed-income scale from 1 January 2027. The ratification agreement is published in the BOE.

If Royal Decree-law 28/2026 is ratified, it will enter into force on 15 November. The Rules of the Congress also allow it to be agreed, after ratification, that a decree be processed as an urgent bill, and allow the Diputación Permanente to do so with decrees approved between parliaments; in that case the text could change later. For contracts already running, 28/2026 sets these transitional rules:

• It applies to main-home contracts in force on 15 November, for expiry dates after that day.
• Notices of non-renewal validly sent before the decree was published, on 7 October, keep their effect and give no right to compensation. The decree does not say the same about later notices.
• If on 15 November there are less than six months left until expiry, the landlord may give notice at least four months in advance instead of six.
• Contracts already in the extension period under the previous law stay in it until it ends; after that, the new rules apply.
• Contracts in tácita reconducción (when, after the contract ends, the tenant stays on with the landlord's consent) move to the new rules at their first expiry after 15 November.

What happens if they are not ratified

A decree that is not ratified is repealed, as happened on 2 October with decrees 26/2026 and 27/2026. The repeal agreement is also published in the BOE, and it is that publication which marks the moment the decree ceases to be in force. If Royal Decree-law 28/2026 is not ratified and the repeal is published before 15 November, it will never apply. The same would happen to the measures in 29/2026 with later dates, such as 10% VAT, the plusvalía coefficients or the new income tax reduction.

And what about contracts signed, or changes made, while 29/2026 is in force? The general rule explained by legal experts is that a failure to ratify does not annul the decree but repeals it for the future: what was done while it was in force is considered valid and effective, and the rule stops applying from publication in the BOE. That is how the jurist Juan Alfonso Santamaría Pastor explained it with regard to a decree not ratified in January 2025, although he warned that the point «is not entirely settled». An analysis by Economist & Jurist in October 2026 on 29/2026 itself takes the same view.

There is a precedent in renting. Royal Decree-law 21/2018, which extended the length of contracts, was in force from 19 December 2018 until its repeal was published in the BOE in January 2019. Contracts signed in that period, the website Notarios y Registradores noted at the time, «remain in force».

What the general rule does not settle are situations caught halfway: a rent update due after the repeal, an extraordinary extension requested but not yet started, or a seasonal contract signed under the new rules. Sometimes a later rule clarifies this: Royal Decree-law 29/2026 itself keeps valid the extension requests made under an earlier decree, 8/2026. If you find yourself in one of these cases, keep all the paperwork and consult a lawyer.

Landlords: what to check before and after 12 November

• If you sign a contract now, do so under the rules in force since 8 October. A seasonal let needs a genuine, provable reason for the tenant to be away from their main home, such as a temporary move for work or study, which is best documented; without it, it is treated as a main-home let.
• If you let rooms, check that the total of the rents does not exceed the rent for the whole flat.
• Before updating the rent, check the 2% cap without agreement until 31 December 2027.
• If your contract expires after 15 November and you do not want to renew, check the notice periods with a lawyer, under the current law and under 28/2026 in case it is ratified. Send the notice by a method that leaves a record, such as a burofax (certified letter).
• If you let furnished flats for 30 nights or fewer, speak to your tax adviser before 1 December: if 29/2026 remains in force, they become subject to 10% VAT, unless it is your own main home.
• If you sign a new contract in December, keep the previous rent to hand: the new income tax reduction depends, among other things, on whether you lower, keep or raise it.
• After the 12th, check the BOE: publication of the agreement decides which rules apply and from when.

Tenants: what to check before and after 12 November

• If your contract ends soon, find out about the extraordinary extension in 29/2026, which allows certain main-home contracts to be extended year by year, for up to two more years. Request it in writing and keep proof that you sent it.
• If you receive a rent increase, check that, without your agreement, it does not exceed 2%.
• You should not be charged agency management fees, contract-drawing-up fees or the taxes linked to the property.
• A «seasonal» contract for living somewhere on a stable basis, with no genuine reason for being away from your main home, is treated as a main-home let, with its terms and rights.
• If your taxable base is below €33,007.20, keep your proof of payment: the new state deduction is 10% of what you pay, on a base of up to €11,630 a year (less if your base exceeds €23,007.20), and requires that you do not have another home within 50 kilometres for at least half the year.
• If your contract expires after 15 November, the result on the 12th decides whether it renews for periods of five years, or seven if the landlord is a company, or continues under the current rules.
• If either decree falls, do not rush into signing waivers or changes: keep copies of everything and seek advice from a lawyer or a tenants' or consumers' association.

What to watch on the day of the vote

• Whether the session is held on 12 November or moves to another date.
• The result for each decree separately: one may be ratified and the other not.
• Whether it is agreed to process either as a bill, which would allow its text to change later.
• The date on which the BOE publishes the agreement, which is what counts to know from when each rule applies or stops applying.
• 15 November, the day 28/2026 would enter into force if ratified.

Llavely and renting

When the rules on renting can change from one week to the next, what gives landlords and tenants most peace of mind is knowing who they are signing with. That is why Llavely is renting the other way round: tenants create their verified profile once, with their identity and income checked (if anything doesn’t add up, a member of our team reviews it), and it is landlords and agencies who invite them to view their property. It is free for tenants, landlords and agencies, with every feature; for tenants, it is always free.

We do not know what will happen on 12 November, and no platform changes what the law says; what we do is make sure both sides start with verified information. If you are thinking of selling a home in the Comunidad de Madrid (Madrid region), you can already do so with us for 2.5% + VAT, only if you sell, and request your free valuation. Rentals are already open in the provinces of Madrid and Barcelona: if you are looking for a flat, create your profile for free; if you are a landlord or an agency, list your property for free. You can paste the text of the listing you already have, and a member of our team checks every property in under 24 hours before it goes live. In the rest of Spain there is a waiting list: sign up with your areas and we will email you when we open there.

Frequently asked questions

Sources

1. Royal Decree-law 29/2026, of 6 October, adopting urgent measures to protect the social function of housing and expand the supply of affordable housing, consolidated text (BOE, 7 October 2026)
2. Royal Decree-law 28/2026, of 6 October, adopting urgent measures to strengthen the stability of rental contracts for a main home, consolidated text (BOE, 7 October 2026)
3. Main tax changes introduced by Royal Decree-law 29/2026, of 6 October (Agencia Tributaria, October 2026)
4. Fiscal and tax measures introduced by Royal Decree-law 29/2026 (Agencia Tributaria, 7 October 2026)
5. Rules of the Congress of Deputies, title VI, article 151: ratification or repeal of Royal Decree-laws (Congreso de los Diputados)
6. Article 86 of the Spanish Constitution: decree-laws (Red Opositor)
7. Congress expects to vote on the housing decrees the day after the general strike and on the eve of the campaign (Europa Press in Infobae, 16 October 2026)
8. The two new housing decrees are expected to be voted on 12 November (NoticiasTrabajo, 16 October 2026)
9. Congress will vote on the housing decrees on 12 November: the key points of the session (Moncloa.com, 17 October 2026)
10. Where the housing measures stand under Royal Decree-law 28/2026 (Garrigues, 8 October 2026)
11. Tax measures in Royal Decree-law 29/2026 on housing (Economist & Jurist, 15 October 2026)
12. Pension uprating: the legal position after its passage through Parliament, by Juan Alfonso Santamaría Pastor (El Derecho, 5 February 2025)
13. The Royal Decree-law on rentals is repealed (Notarios y Registradores, 22 January 2019)
14. Why masks are still compulsory outdoors: the decree must be ratified within 30 working days (Maldita, 25 January 2022)