Spanish political party Vox is calling for new fiscal measures designed to discourage foreigners from buying property in Spain, while giving Spanish citizens priority access to subsidised housing and social benefits.
This week the party will defend a motion in Congress that includes what it calls a “dissuasive fiscal regime” for foreign buyers. At the same time, it wants Spanish citizens to be prioritised in access to protected housing, subsidised rental schemes, and other social support measures.
Who are Vox?
Vox is a nationalist, right-wing populist party led by Santiago Abascal. Founded in 2013, it has positioned itself as an outspoken critic of immigration, feminism, regional autonomy, and the European Union. It has grown rapidly over the last decade, capitalising on voter frustration with traditional parties, and is now Spain’s third largest political force. Housing has become one of its new battlegrounds.
What Vox is proposing
According to Europa Press, the package of measures Vox plans to debate in Congress this week includes:
- A fiscal penalty regime to deter foreign capital from buying homes in Spain.
- Removal of VAT and the property transfer tax (ITP) on the purchase of a main residence for Spanish buyers.
- Measures to boost new housing supply by freeing up land, cutting red tape, and removing what it calls “unnecessary” regulations.
- Prioritisation of Spanish citizens in access to social housing and related subsidies.
Criticising government policy
The motion builds on an urgent interpellation Vox recently directed at Isabel Rodríguez, Spain’s Minister of Housing. It was the fourth time in less than a year the party has formally challenged her in parliament. Vox argues that government housing policy has failed, creating what it describes as a “hostile legal framework” that discourages new construction and constrains supply.
According to Vox, Spain faces a housing deficit of between 600,000 and 765,000 homes. It highlights the fact that house prices have risen for 40 consecutive quarters, with the last three registering increases of more than 10%. The Housing Price Index, it says, has posted the highest growth in 18 years. At the same time, just 31.8% of under-35s own a home – less than half the rate of a generation ago.
Foreign buyers and immigration
True to its political DNA, Vox links housing pressure directly to “mass illegal immigration” and rising property prices. It claims foreign capital distorts the market, hence the call for a punitive fiscal framework aimed at discouraging overseas investment in Spanish homes.
Outlook
The motion is unlikely to prosper given the parliamentary arithmetic, but it signals Vox’s determination to frame Spain’s housing crisis through a nationalist and anti-immigration lens. For international buyers, it is another reminder that political hostility towards foreign demand is not limited to the left.
