Senior figures from Spain’s centre-right People’s Party (PP) have launched a scathing attack on Catalonia’s housing policies, labelling the region a “laboratory” for “the worst populist measures” now being exported across the country. Speaking at a party conference in Vilanova i la Geltrú on Saturday, they vowed to protect property owners. They criticised the “Colau-Illa-Sánchez model,” arguing it has destabilised the rental market and made Catalonia a haven for illegal squatters.

Your browser does not support the video tag.

The conference brought together the PP’s national housing coordinator, Paloma Martín, and the party’s Catalan president, Alejandro Fernández, who jointly condemned the interventionist approach favoured by the current socialist-led governments at the local, regional, and national levels. Their criticism comes amid an escalating housing crisis in Barcelona, where soaring rents and a shortage of available properties continue to dominate the political agenda.

A ‘Laboratory’ for Failed Policies

Paloma Martín asserted that Catalonia has served as a testing ground for policies that have ultimately failed. She took aim at measures driven by Catalan President Salvador Illa, Barcelona Mayor Jaume Collboni, and his predecessor, Ada Colau, whose administration championed a controversial mandate requiring 30% of new developments to be affordable housing.

“Catalonia is the first to make all possible mistakes,” Martín said, according to reports from Europa Press. “Therefore, when we analyse it, it is the first in the collapse of supply and the first in squatting.”

Martín specifically blamed the national Housing Law, passed in 2023 under Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, for exacerbating the problem. She claimed that since its implementation, rental prices have surged by 7% to 12% annually. “It is clear that market intervention never works, that it is a terrible idea,” she stated. “What it has done is pit owners against tenants; it has broken the natural balance between owner and tenant, the mutual trust.”

The ‘Squatter’s Paradise’ of Europe

Alejandro Fernández echoed these sentiments, promising that a PP government would offer “security, tranquillity, and protection” to property owners. He argued that left-wing policies have created a hostile environment for landlords, turning Catalonia into what he called the “squatter’s paradise of Europe.”

“These approaches have turned Catalonia into the squatter’s paradise of Europe, as it accounts for 43% of all illegal occupations in Spain,” Fernández declared. “No one in their right mind, seeing this landscape, is going to put their property on the rental market when they know they won’t get paid and that the non-payment rate is getting worse.”

Fernández directed sharp criticism at former mayor Ada Colau, a prominent housing activist before entering politics. “Ada Colau was a squatter, she dressed up as Maya the Bee and entered homes that were not hers,” he said, referencing her past activism. He argued that the policies of socialists and Colau’s Comuns party are based on an “immoral and unconstitutional principle” that forces private owners to solve a problem that should be addressed by public administrations.

“For them, the right to housing for vulnerable people should not be covered by the administrations, which is what should happen, but by the owners with their homes,” he argued.

An Alternative Model

Beyond the criticism, the PP representatives outlined an alternative vision for housing policy focused on increasing supply and reducing taxes. Martín proposed an “exceptional period of 48 months” to fast-track the conversion of rural land for new housing developments, allowing keys to be delivered within four years.

The party also advocates for significant tax reductions, including:

  • Lowering the property transfer tax to 4%.
  • Reducing VAT for home renovations.
  • A 100% tax exemption on donations and inheritances for family members up to the third degree.

Fernández framed the debate as an “ideological battle” against a “populist left.” He defended the land liberalisation policies enacted under former PP Prime Minister José María Aznar, arguing they enabled a generation of Spaniards to buy their first homes. “Don’t let anyone try to fool you that the Aznar era was to blame, because in that era, all of us who are now between 45 and 55 were able to buy the home where we have raised a family,” he concluded.

The PP’s strong stance seeks to draw a clear line against the current government’s approach, which includes measures like Mayor Collboni’s recent proposal for a tax hike on non-resident property buyers, as it positions itself as the primary defender of property rights in Catalonia.