Britons who own vacant homes in Spain are facing paying more taxes for leaving them uninhabited. The Spanish government wants to increase taxes to help solve the major housing crisis gripping the nation, which earlier this spring saw people living in more than 40 cities voice their anger in a nationwide protest.
Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez hopes the tax will encourage second homeowners to put their property on the market. The measures would see owners charged an increased amount for leaving their homes empty. According to the National Statistics Institute (INE), there were 3.8 million vacant properties in Spain in 2021. This is around 14% of the total across the nation.
The Spanish government defines empty properties as those that have been vacant for two or more years, as reported by The Local. The new measure will make those with empty homes pay more by modifying personal tax income.
Homeowners are currently charged 1.1% of the cadastral value. The new bill would see vacant homes with a total cadastral value of up to €100,000 continue to add 1.1% to their tax return.
Beyond that, the percentage will increase to 1.5% up to €500,000, 2% for homes up to €1million, and up to 3% for those with empty homes valued above €1million.
The government hopes it will force homeowners to put their empty properties back on the market or up for rent. However, Jaime Palomera, co-founder of the Urban Research Institute and the Sindicat de Llogateres (Landlords’ Union), explained to newspaper El Diario that “the monetary impact in terms of costs is too small to incentivise owners”.
Víctor Palomo, a lawyer from the Spanish Housing Authority (CAES), also believes the new tax would not be enough to deter people. He said: “For it to be effective, the surcharge has to be striking”.
The Housing Law was implemented in the Basque Country and Catalonia two years ago. It saw councils increase the property tax for homes by up to 150%.
But experts have claimed that there is little evidence of the measure working so far. Very few homeowners have actually put their properties back on the rental market as a result.
