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Spain’s socialist prime minister has vowed to completely ban non-resident Britons from buying homes in the country.
At a Socialist Party event in the Extremadura region of western Spain on Sunday, Pedro Sánchez said: “We are going to propose that these non-EU foreigners, that neither they nor their families reside here and that, Therefore, they only speculate with these homes and houses, they will be prohibited from buying them in our country.
Sanchez’s comments follow his announcement last week of a 12-point program to address a growing housing crisis that has left locals furious over the lack of available homes.
The measures included increasing property tax by 100 percent for non-EU foreigners buying property in Spain.
Home buyers in the country are currently expected to pay fees and taxes worth between 10 and 12 percent of the price of the home, depending on where it is located.
Sánchez stated that the new rate would help “prioritize the availability of housing for residents.”
He noted that in 2023 alone, non-EU residents bought 27,000 houses and apartments in Spain, “not to live in them, but mainly to speculate.”
He said this is “something that, in the context of the shortages we are experiencing, we cannot afford.”
Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has vowed to ban non-resident Britons from buying homes in Spain as he desperately tries to tackle the country’s housing crisis.

Tenerife locals hold banners expressing concern about the impact of mass tourism, October 2024

Protesters march shouting slogans against the Formula 1 Barcelona Fan Festival in the center of Barcelona, Spain, on Wednesday, June 19.
Sánchez’s proposals would have to be debated and approved by Parliament.
Spain has seen mass demonstrations grow year after year, with aggrieved locals decrying a housing shortage while opportunists buy houses and rent them out to tourists, or leave them empty for most of the year.
Residency in Spain is open to UK citizens and other non-EU citizens planning to stay longer than 90 days, subject to payment of fees and proof of financial stability.
Sanchez’s sweeping plan to address the housing crisis unveiled last week also outlined measures focused on reforming the construction industry, ensuring affordable rents and offering incentives to those who follow rental guidelines.
This includes the transfer of land to a new Public Housing Company which the government says it will use to build thousands of new affordable rental homes.
Sánchez stated that in the first half of this year the company will begin to add more than 30,000 homes to Sareb, around 13,000 with immediate effect.
The government also hopes to “rehabilitate” vacant homes to provide them with additional “affordable rents”, offering incentives to those who renovate flats and leave them available for an extended period.

A protester holds a sign reading “The Canary Islands have a limit” as thousands of people march on Las Americas beach during a demonstration against mass tourism, in Arona, on the Spanish Canary island of Tenerife, October 20 of 2024.

Protesters in Alicante demonstrate against excess tourism in the Spanish city, in July 2024
It hopes that an income tax exemption for landlords who rent their homes based on the ‘Reference Price Index’ will encourage a healthier rental ecosystem.
In an attempt to ensure that Spaniards can access housing before wealthy non-EU citizens, the proposals also include a measure to ‘limit’ the purchase of homes by people who ‘do not reside in our country’.
This will be reinforced with regulations on fraud in seasonal rentals, discouraging those who illicitly seek to make the most of Spain’s lucrative tourist season.