Spanish PM to block Britons from buying second homes amid plan for 100% tax
Electrician Dan Byrne says he's considering moving his family to Spain due the 'dire environment' facing small businesses in the UK
GB News
Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez has announced plans to ban non-EU citizens, including Britons, from buying property in Spain unless they reside in the country.
The move comes alongside his proposal for a tax of up to 100 per cent on such property deals.
"We are going to propose to ban non-EU foreigners from buying houses in our country, in cases where neither they nor their families reside here and they are just speculating with those homes," Sánchez told a Socialist party gathering in Extremadura.
The measures aim to tackle Spain's soaring property prices and housing shortage.
Sanchez has announced plans to ban non-EU citizens, including Britons, from buying property in Spain unless they reside in the country
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British buyers led foreign property purchases in Spain during 2023, accounting for 9.5 per cent of all transactions by non-Spaniards.
According to housing ministry data, foreigners - including EU nationals - were responsible for 19 per cent of Spain's 638,552 property deals in 2023.
The impact varies significantly by region, with foreign buyers accounting for 31.5 per cent of purchases in the Balearic Islands and 28.6 per cent in the Canary Islands.
The eastern Valencia region saw 29.2 per cent foreign ownership, while Madrid's rate was just 6.3 per cent.
Non-EU foreigners purchased approximately 27,000 properties in Spain in 2023.
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According to housing ministry data, foreigners - including EU nationals - were responsible for 19 per cent of Spain's 638,552 property deals in 2023
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The measures come as Madrid has seen rents surge by approximately 60 per cent over the past decade.
Sanchez said his plan for a 100-per-cent tax was inspired by similar schemes in Denmark and Canada.
Canada banned non-resident foreigners from buying homes in 2023 to improve affordability, with the measure extended until January 2027.
Denmark requires foreigners to live in the country for at least five years and obtain a special permit before buying property, though rules are more relaxed for EU nationals.
The Spanish government is also implementing higher taxes and stricter regulations on tourist apartments, which are blamed for reducing residential housing availability.
Sue Wilson, head of Bremain in Spain which represents 6,000 British residents, criticised the proposals.
"Many British nationals on lower incomes, who had hopes of retirement on the Costas, have already had their dreams shattered [by Brexit]," she said.
Sanchez said his plan for a 100-per-cent tax was inspired by similar schemes in Denmark and Canada
Reuters
Non-EU foreigners purchased approximately 27,000 properties in Spain in 2023
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Spain has also announced the scrapping of its Golden Visa scheme, which allowed wealthy non-EU citizens to gain residency by investing over €500,000 in real estate.
Joan Carlos Amaro, an economics professor at Barcelona's Esade Business School, warned: "Anything that puts up barriers and stops the market from functioning ends up hurting everyone."
Spain's opposition People's Party (PP) has denounced the proposed 100 per cent tax as "xenophobic".
The PP dismissed Sánchez's plan to limit foreign property purchases as "a smokescreen with no real effect".
The conservative party noted that non-EU buyers accounted for "a total of 4 per cent of all sales and purchases" in 2023.
"These foreigners that come, they spend money, the houses they live in have to be built and that creates jobs," said Joan Carlos Amaro, real estate analyst and economics professor.
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