Spain Votes on 29 November: What the Election Means for Property Buyers

Spain will hold a general election on 29 November 2026. For property buyers, nothing has changed today. Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez announced the vote on 5 October, three days after Congress rejected his government's two housing decrees. Purchase taxes are the same as last week, the planned 10% VAT on short holiday lets will not happen, and the bill for a 100% tax on non-EU buyers lapses when parliament is dissolved.

Below: why the election was called, what the failed decrees would have changed, what happens to the 100% tax, which rules apply to buyers today, and what to watch until election day. We will update this article as the campaign develops.

Why Spain is voting: the housing decrees failed

A royal decree-law takes effect immediately but must be validated by Congress within 30 days. If Congress votes it down, the decree is repealed. That is what happened to both texts on 2 October.

What the failed decrees would have changed

The larger decree, RDL 26/2026, carried the tax measures that mattered to property owners. Each one had a start date that had not yet arrived, so none of them was ever charged:

• 10% VAT on short lets. From 1 December 2026, renting a furnished home for stays of up to 30 nights would have stopped being VAT-exempt and been taxed at 10%, unless the home was the owner's own main residence (Article 7).
• IBI surcharge on tourist flats. In officially "stressed" housing zones, town halls could have raised the annual IBI property tax on registered tourist lets by up to 50%, up to 100% for owners of two or more, and up to 150% for owners of four or more (Article 8).
• IBI surcharge on long-term empty homes. Up to 50–100% for homes left empty without justification for over two years. Second homes were explicitly treated as justified for up to four years of continuous vacancy (Article 8).
• Limits on discounted purchases by companies. Entities whose business includes buying property would have been barred, until the end of 2028, from buying homes for less than 70% of their appraised value (Article 1). This did not apply to private individuals.

The second decree, RDL 27/2026, dealt with long-term rental contracts for tenants' main homes. Neither decree contained any measure aimed at foreign or non-resident buyers.

What happens to the 100% foreign-buyer tax

The 100% tax on non-EU, non-resident buyers was announced in January 2025 and filed by PSOE as a bill in Congress in May 2025. It was never debated. Under Article 207 of the Rules of the Congress, when parliament is dissolved every bill still pending lapses, whatever stage it has reached. With the dissolution for the 29 November election, the 100% tax stops existing even as a bill: it would have to be filed again from scratch in the next parliament. Buyers living in the EU were never covered by it. Our full story of the 100% tax explains what was proposed and who it would have affected.

Even as proposed, the tax would not have applied to new-build homes bought directly from a developer, because those sales pay VAT rather than transfer tax. See our guide to buying new-build property in Spain.

What applies to buyers today

1. Purchase taxes are unchanged

A resale home pays regional transfer tax (ITP): 9% in the Valencia region (11% above €1 million), 8% in Murcia and 7% in Andalusia. A new build bought from a developer pays 10% VAT plus regional stamp duty. Nothing in either decree touched these rates. Our guide to property taxes in Spain sets out every tax for residents and non-residents.

2. Holiday-let numbers stay as they were

If you are buying to rent to holidaymakers, the 10% VAT and the IBI surcharges are off the table. The rules you plan around remain the regional tourist licence and local limits, which are set by each region and town hall, not by these decrees. See our guide to renting out property in Spain.

3. New rules would need a new majority

Any new tax or restriction on buyers would need a government willing to propose it and a majority in Congress to approve it, which is exactly what the September decrees could not secure. Until a new government is formed after 29 November, the rules described here stay in force.

If you want to see what fits your budget under the rules in force today, ask for a personal selection.

How the rules for foreign buyers have moved since 2025

What to watch until 29 November

Parties usually publish their full programmes once the campaign begins. We will update this article with what each major party proposes on housing and foreign buyers, quoting their own documents, as soon as they are published, and again after the result.