Overview
- José Luis Martínez-Almeida and Jaume Collboni testified before the Senate housing committee, offering starkly different assessments of the 2023 national housing law.
- Almeida labeled the law “very negative,” blaming rent caps for a 45% drop in rental supply since 2022 and a 40% rise in prices, and he backed new tax breaks for landlords while criticizing other measures.
- Collboni called the law “positive,” citing a 4.9% fall in Barcelona rents and 1,551 more rental contracts, and he supported incentives for small owners as a complementary tool.
- Both mayors prioritized expanding supply: Madrid touted capacity for 60,000 building permits and office-to-housing conversions, while Barcelona aims to add public housing, start 10,000 homes, and recover about 10,000 tourist flats by 2028.
- Parties framed the hearing as a high-profile faceoff, yet both city leaders converged on construction and fiscal incentives as near-term levers even as the rent-cap dispute remains unresolved.