Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez has announced “unprecedented” proposals to try to limit property purchases by non-resident Brits as part of attempts to solve the country’s housing crisis following a wave of anti-tourism protests.
Sanchez revealed his government intended to discourage nationals from countries outside the European Union from buying on the Costas and other parts of Spain by increasing the amount of taxes they have to pay.
He announced the measure today as part of a 12-point plan to tackle housing problems, which would also see homeowners operating short-term Airbnb-style holiday rental properties being taxed as if they were running hotels.
Detailing the proposal, which is set to impact directly on British nationals looking to buy property in Spain as non-residents, he said: “For non-resident non-EU nationals the tax burden will be up to 100 percent the property’s value.
“In 2023 alone non-residents from outside the EU purchased 27,000 houses and flats, not to live in them because mainly they bought them to speculate, to earn money with them, which is something that in the context of the problems many people are experiencing is something we can’t permit.”
Large investment funds and foreign buyers often purchase entire buildings which is thought to contribute to prices being driven up, as per In Spain News.
Sanchez has already taken the step of abolishing “golden visas,” which granted residency to people purchasing property worth over €500,000 (around £419,747.50), and now intends to go further to tackle speculative purchasing.
The socialist leader, whose PSOE party is currently governing with hard-left coalition Sumar, also announced tax breaks for homeowners across Spain who rent their property at government-indicated prices to alleviate the “critical” situation.
Sanchez said he wanted to promote a society that wasn’t “divided in two – with rich homeowners and poor tenants.”
Monday’s announcement comes after months of anti-mass tourism protests across Spain, which have highlighted issues like the lack of affordable housing linked to Airbnb-style holiday rentals and empty foreign-owned homes which critics say are exacerbating the problems.
Large-scale demonstrations took place last year in Majorca and Tenerife as well as Malaga, as tenants rage at the rising cost of living and renting.
Full details of the proposals put forward by the Spanish PM during a speech at a housing forum at Madrid’s Railway Museum, which would need parliamentary approval to pass into law, are yet to be released.
Following Brexit, British homeowners in Spain are prevented from spending more than 90 days in every 180-day period at their Costa homes, unless they are registered as tax residents.
British campaigners have spent years trying to get the Spanish government to exempt them and allow them to visit their sunshine properties when and for how long they want after traditionally using them throughout the winter months.
