Spain's government uses Parliament dissolution to try to salvage overturned housing decree

Rather than relying on the full chamber, the decrees' fate will now rest with the Diputación Permanente - the standing committee that assumes parliamentary powers when the Cortes Generales is dissolved.

Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez announced the dissolution of Parliament and called a snap general election for 29 November. Moncloa sources confirmed that while the decrees were not tabled during the extraordinary Cabinet meeting to dissolve Parliament, the executive retains the authority to approve royal decree-laws until election day. With Parliament dissolved, the Diputación Permanente must ratify or repeal the measures within 30 days.

The 68-seat Diputación Permanente does not directly replicate the full parliamentary chamber due to rounding calculations applied to parliamentary groups.

Under this distribution, Junts holds a single representative, while the Grupo Mixto seat is held by Podemos MP Ione Belarra.

Regional party UPN, which voted against the decrees alongside the PP, Vox, and Junts, holds no seat on the body.

With the seat breakdown standing at 27 for the PP, 25 for PSOE, six for Vox, six for Sumar, and one each for ERC, Junts, EH Bildu, PNV, and the Grupo Mixto, the main housing decree would pass by 35 votes to 34 if previous voting alignments hold.

This primary decree includes eviction protections for vulnerable households without alternative housing and a mandatory extension of residential lease agreements through 2028.

However, a second decree proposing indefinite rental contracts faces continued resistance from the PNV, leaving its approval uncertain.

Governing via decree during a parliamentary dissolution mirrors tactics used prior to the April 2019 general election, when Cabinet passed a series of social measures known as "social Fridays." That package included a previously rejected rental decree that was ultimately ratified by the Diputación Permanente.

To address legal concerns regarding the re-submission of rejected texts, Moncloa officials indicated that the measures presented to Cabinet will be modified while remaining "basically" identical in substance. If approved, the PSOE will enter the campaign season with active housing protections in place; if rejected, the government intends to frame the opposition as blocking vital social legislation.

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