Catalonia housing law faces constitutional block

On 22 July 2026 the Catalan Parliament postponed the final vote on a draft law aimed at curbing speculative housing purchases after Junts per Catalunya and the People’s Party asked the Consell de Garanties Estatutàries (CGE) for a legal opinion, triggering an automatic suspension of proceedings. The vote was rescheduled for after the summer recess.

On 4 August 2026 the CGE issued a unanimous dictamen declaring the proposal unconstitutional, stating it breaches private‑property rights, inheritance, freedom of enterprise, contractual obligations and legal certainty, and exceeds the competencies of the Catalan government under the Spanish Constitution and the Catalan Statute. The ruling, while not binding, effectively halts the bill and forces a comprehensive revision.

Catalonia’s minister for Territory, Housing and Ecological Transition, Silvia Paneque, said the regional government will explore all legal avenues to protect access to homes. Builders’ association APCE called for the law’s withdrawal, and the People’s Party welcomed the CGE’s assessment. The controversy continues amid the “Pla 50.000” plan to deliver 50,000 public rental homes by 2030 and measures such as vacant‑home mobilisation and right‑of‑first‑refusal in the 271 municipalities classified as residential‑market tension zones.