Spain’s prime minister has vowed to impose a ban on non-resident Brits aiming to live in the country following national protests demanding tourists “go home”.
Spain has been rocked by major public demonstrations calling on the more than 88.5 million people who visit each year to choose other holiday destinations, deeming the sheer number unsustainable for its roughly 47 million residents. Anti-tourism campaigners have blamed tourists for nationally high rental rates and a lack of affordable housing, as scores of people are left at risk of poverty.
The hundreds of thousands of Brits who live across the nation – or up to a million by some estimates – are contributing to the issue, and Spanish authorities have responded. The country’s prime minister has vowed to prevent “non-EU foreigners” from buying up properties on Spain‘s market and using them as speculative assets.
Pedro Sanchez told delegates at a Socialist Party event in the Extremadura region of western Spain on Sunday that homes should not be for people who are using them for “speculating” purposes. He said: “We are going to propose that these non-EU foreigners, who neither they nor their families reside here and who are therefore only speculating with these homes and houses, be prohibited from buying them in our country.”
The Spanish PM’s statement on Sunday followed promises of intervention, with his government poised to enact a 12-point programme designed to tackle the country’s housing crisis. The issue poses an ever-present risk to Spanish nationals, with the country’s central bank estimating last year that nearly 50 percent of families renting at market prices were at risk of poverty or social exclusion.
Mr Sanchez unveiled a 12-point programme to address the crisis last week with proposals to raise property tax for non-EU foreigners who wish to buy a Spanish home by 100 percent. If passed, the measure would increase the threshold tenfold in some cases, with foreign buyers currently expected to pay costs and taxes amounting to between 10 and 12 percent the price of a given home.
Speaking on January 13, he pledged the move would “prioritise the availability of housing for residents”, noting that, in 2023, non-EU residents bough 27,000 homes in Spain “mainly to speculate”. He added: “The West faces a decisive challenge: To not become a society divided into two classes, the rich landlords and poor tenants.”
While the move has garnered support, it is not universal, and Spain’s government must participate in a delicate juggling act to ensure its proposed policies don’t damage its vital tourism industry. Tourism represents around 13 percent of the country’s GDP, making it indispensable to the national economy.
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