ERC’s latest motion in the Catalan parliament demands new legal powers to ban most foreign buyers, claiming they’re to blame for rising housing costs. The only thing being speculated here, however, is political capital.

ERC pushes new restrictions on foreign buyers

ERC is at it again. The Catalan Republican Left party has pushed through yet another parliamentary motion demanding limits on foreign property buyers, blaming them for housing “speculation” and rising rental prices. Their proposal passed with the support of the PSC, Comuns and CUP—though notably it remains a symbolic gesture with no legal force for now.

The motion calls on both the Spanish Government and the Catalan executive led by Salvador Illa to create the legal framework needed to restrict property purchases by non-resident foreigners, anyone with fewer than five years of residence in Spain, and even Spanish companies with foreign shareholders. That’s a wide net designed to catch almost anyone ERC deems “foreign” enough to scapegoat.

A familiar populist refrain

ERC’s argument is that foreigners are buying homes not to live in them, but purely to speculate, which supposedly drives up prices for everyone else. “The market is ferocious and without scruples. We have to regulate it,” said ERC deputy Mar Besses during the debate.

But as usual with ERC, the claims are bigger than the facts. Foreign buyers make up a small share of the overall housing market in Catalonia. Many are not speculators but families relocating to live and work, retirees, or second-home buyers with longstanding ties to the region. Suggesting they’re all faceless profiteers is politically convenient but fundamentally dishonest.

This isn’t about fixing the market

If ERC were serious about tackling housing affordability, they’d focus on the structural problems they’ve helped create: rent controls that discourage supply, weak enforcement against illegal squatting, and suffocating bureaucracy that hinders development. These are the real reasons the housing market is broken—not a British couple buying a holiday-home on the Costa Brava.

In fact, far from helping, ERC’s approach could make things worse. Their motion also supports banning tourist rental licences for foreigners and introducing punitive measures for people who own multiple homes. Were any of this to become law, it would likely decimate the tourist rental and second-home markets that sustain local economies on the Costa Brava and Costa Dorada—without doing a thing to improve housing access for locals.

No legal basis

The motion, while passed, is little more than political theatre. As things stand, foreigners will continue to be able to buy property just as before. Any actual restrictions would require legislative changes at both the national and regional level, and even then, they would almost certainly fall foul of EU law—particularly when it comes to discriminating against citizens of other EU member states.

Even some of ERC’s rivals on the left seem to recognise the problem. Junts and the PP were highly critical of the motion, with PP deputy Àngels Esteller warning that rather than ensuring access to housing, the plan would destroy it. “¡Exprópiese!” she exclaimed, borrowing a line from the late Venezuelan strongman Hugo Chávez.

All gesture, no policy

At the end of the day, this latest move from ERC is just more of the same: posturing in the guise of policy. It’s easier to blame foreigners for Catalonia’s housing problems than to take responsibility for years of bad decisions. But while ERC points the finger abroad, the crisis at home continues to grow.

The Canary Islands are ramping up efforts to limit the sale of residential properties to non-residents, and this time, they want all Spanish municipalities on board.

With legal room tightening regionally, the regional government of the Canary Islands aims to elevate the issue to national prominence—putting housing access for locals ahead of speculative interest from foreign buyers.

Targeting speculation through local rules

During a parliamentary session last week, Canarian president Fernando Clavijo announced that his government will present a proposal at the upcoming Conference of Presidents in Barcelona on 6 June. The central aim: to amend Spain’s Local Government Act, enabling municipalities to introduce ordinances that “complicate” rather than outright ban foreign purchases, using tools such as minimum residency requirements or proof of local employment.

“We’re not proposing a prohibition,” insisted Clavijo. “But we believe municipal governments should have the power to put local needs first and dampen the pressures foreign demand places on housing markets.”

The proposal is part of a wider strategy by the Canary Islands to safeguard access to housing, particularly in areas with high second-home ownership. It dovetails with the region’s push at the European level to treat outermost regions (RUPs) differently under Article 349 of the EU Treaty—allowing targeted protections for affordable housing supply and rental markets.

Backing local governments, confronting national hurdles

The Canarian leadership argues that the Spanish state, under its basic competency in local governance, could authorise municipalities to implement such restrictive tools. Legal studies commissioned by the regional government suggest that city councils may, for instance:

• Link property purchases to a minimum period of local residence.
• Require evidence of employment in the area.
• Flag properties left vacant beyond six months.
• Impose mandatory use or rental conditions on luxury purchases.

Proponents say this type of regulation could reduce speculative buying, ensure more homes are inhabited year-round, and help tame housing pressures in tourism-heavy areas.

PSOE wants big landlords to finance public housing

The Socialist Party (PSOE) welcomed parts of the Canarian initiative but offered its own diagnosis and solution. Speaking in Parliament, PSOE spokesperson Sebastián Franquis highlighted the alarming concentration of property ownership in the islands: “Four individuals own more than 620 homes, and 73 companies control over 19,300 units.”

Franquis announced a legislative proposal to raise the Property Transfer Tax (ITP) on high-volume owners, with proceeds earmarked exclusively for public housing initiatives. The Socialists also want to establish a national registry of large landlords to assist in state intervention and market monitoring.

Clavijo open to collaboration—but wants housing law reform

Surprisingly, President Clavijo encouraged Franquis to share the legislative draft ahead of the Barcelona summit. However, he also urged PSOE to press the central government to revise Spain’s national housing law, which Clavijo blamed for exacerbating market dysfunction: “It’s pushed homes out of the rental market and sent prices soaring.”

In the meantime, the Canary Islands will continue forging their legal path—with a growing roster of proposals aimed at reducing foreign ownership, prioritising long-term rentals, and increasing housing availability for locals.

Migration, debt and fiscal flexibility also on Clavijo’s agenda

While housing is set to dominate the debate in Barcelona, Clavijo also plans to revive discussions around a structural migration compact—proposed with Basque support—that failed to gain traction at December’s summit in Santander.

He’s also calling for:

• Enforcement of the Supreme Court’s ruling on asylum-seeking minors, obligating the state to assume responsibility for more than 1,000 unaccompanied minors in the islands.
• A general debt relief framework, noting that “forgiving debt for some shouldn’t be paid by all.”
• Loosening Spain’s spending cap to allow the Canary Islands to deploy its own surpluses more freely.
• Ensuring the Canary Islands’ REF (Fiscal and Economic Regime) is delinked from upcoming national financing reforms.

Conclusion: Housing debate goes national

Though the housing squeeze is most acute in tourist-heavy enclaves like the Canary Islands and Balearics, Clavijo’s bet is on national traction. If local governments across Spain are empowered to act against speculative foreign ownership, it could mark a significant—and controversial—shift in Spanish housing policy.