Spain’s prime minister to ban Britons buying second homes
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Proposed ban comes amid soaring property and rent prices in Spain. Spain’s prime minister has floated a ban to stop non-resident Britons from buying second homes in the country. Pedro Sanchez said he would propose to ban purchasers from outside the European Union from buying properties, in an attempt to curb rising property prices in Spain.
![[According to Sanchez, non-residents from outside of the EU represent about 23,000 of the almost 700,000 homes bought and sold each year in the country.]](https://static.independent.co.uk/2024/12/02/14/Spain_Politics_03296.jpg)
His plans come as part of a series of measures to boost supply and reduce demand, after a lack of housing has seen rents rise around 60 per cent in areas such as Madrid. “We will propose to ban these non-EU foreigners who are not residents, and their relatives, from buying houses in our country since they only do so to speculate,” Mr Sanchez said at a political rally in Plasencia, in western Spain, on Sunday.
![[Official figures show that the number of Brits registered as living in Spain increased from 276,089 in 2017 to 284,037 in 2023.]](https://static.independent.co.uk/2025/01/21/08/iStock-853926588.jpg)
The latest announcement comes just one week after he unveiled a proposal to tax non-EU citizens not living in Spain 100 per cent when buying property. Housing has become a major issue in Spain as it struggles to balance promoting tourism, a key driver of its economy, with concerns over high rents due to gentrification and landlords shifting to more lucrative, short-term tourist rentals, especially in urban and coastal areas.
The country’s central bank recently estimated there could be a deficit of half a million houses in Spain by the end of this year. According to Mr Sanchez, non-residents from outside of the EU represent about 23,000 of the almost 700,000 homes bought and sold each year in the country.
