Politics · Spain · 2 days ago
Puente says government lacks tools to solve Spain’s housing problem soon
Spain’s Transport Minister, Óscar Puente, says the government was not sufficiently prepared to address the housing problem during its first term, which began in 2018.
He said attention was focused on other emergencies, including the Covid pandemic.
Puente says the government now lacks the regulatory tools to quickly tackle the problem, especially without parliamentary support and cooperation from regional governments.
He says the response should include building public housing and regulating the market to limit or lower prices.
He described the government’s ability to regulate prices as very limited.
Puente said the case of Maricarmen, a woman who was evicted from her rented Madrid home and died two days before the interview, should prompt stronger action.
He said the government is calling a general election so voters can choose between different approaches to housing.
Transport Minister Óscar Puente said the government lacks the tools to solve Spain’s housing problem in the short term.
He acknowledged that the government had not been sufficiently prepared during its first term, when it had a clearer parliamentary majority.
Puente said housing was not a top priority when the government took office in 2018, as it faced emergencies including the Covid pandemic.
He said tackling the problem requires building public housing and regulating the market to cap or lower prices.
Puente linked the limits on government action to a lack of parliamentary support and opposition by some regional governments to applying the Housing Law.
- Who
- Transport Minister Óscar Puente.
- What
- He said the government lacks the tools to solve the housing problem in the short term and acknowledged it had not acted early enough.
- When
- 9 October 2026.
- Where
- Spain.
- Why
- Puente said the government lacks suitable regulatory tools, particularly without parliamentary support and with some regional governments refusing to apply the Housing Law.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
We were not sufficiently prepared, and today we have reached the situation we are in, perhaps because during that term the government’s focus and attention were not there.
If they want a model where housing is truly a right or if we want to continue along the path of housing being a speculative asset or a means of enrichment.
It is intolerable for basic rights to be subordinated to speculation or the enrichment of a few.
Puente said housing was not the government’s first concern when it took office.
Puente acknowledged the government had not been sufficiently prepared and said it lacked tools to address the problem in the short term.
El País reported that Puente expected the PSOE to be the first force in the elections.
- Minister
- Óscar Puente
- Government took office
- 2018
- Housing response
- Public housing and market regulation
- Election date reported by El País
- 29 November (29-N)
Sources
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