ERC has united its votes with Junts to approve in the Parliament of Catalonia this Friday the filing of an unconstitutionality appeal against the state law for the Right to Housing, validated by the Congress of Deputies on May 24 precisely with the support from the Republicans, EH Bildu, PSOE and Unidas Podemos. But the debate in the Catalan Chamber has served to once again highlight the differences between Republicans and post-convergents over the negotiation strategy with the State, in full conversations for the eventual investiture of Pedro Sánchez.
The Housing law became the first rule on this matter of democracy that limits the rise in rents. The law represented a milestone of the legislature reached a few days before the municipal and regional elections and the call for general elections advanced by Pedro Sánchez. Its approval returned to confront the progressive majority of the last investiture with the right, while dividing the nationalist parties, since PNV, Junts, PDECat and Canary Coalition voted against.
But ERC voted in favor and even in the debate on the law defended tooth and nail for the paradigm shift that the standard entails. Among other measures, the regulation sets ceilings on rental price increases -2% this year and 3% next year-, establishes a more restrictive control of prices in areas considered to be under stress, establishes that Real estate expenses and fees produced by the rental of a property will always be borne by the owner, and it places the minimum threshold of owned properties at five to be considered a large holder.
The filing of the unconstitutionality appeal from Catalonia occurs after the Consell de Garanties Estatutàries (CGE) pointed out in a -non-binding- report in August, that the norm violates the exclusive competence of the Generalitat in matters of housing and urban planning, and the principle of financial autonomy. The opinion of the CGE, requested by Junts, indicates that at least eight articles of the state law, complete or in some of its points, and two transitory provisions, "violate the exclusive competence of the Generalitat in matters of housing, included in article 137.1 of the Statute and do not find protection in article 149.1.1 or .13 of the Constitution”.
The articles pointed out by the CGE for their alleged invasion of powers affect the sections referring to the rental price cap and the declaration of stressed areas. In fact, Junts already warned the Government and ERC during the debate on the regulation that the new law invaded the exclusive powers of the Generalitat de Catalunya, in an argument shared by the PDECat and PNV. The appeal of unconstitutionality by the Parliament -approved with the votes in favor of ERC, Junts and the CUP, the abstention of the PPC Ciudadanos and Vox, and the votes against of PSC and comunes-, is added to the one that has already been announced by other autonomous communities, especially governed by the PP, such as Madrid, Andalusia, the Balearic Islands or the Basque Country.
Now, ERC justifies support for the filing of the unconstitutionality appeal due to the need to "defend the Generalitat de Catalunya and, in turn, maintain the essence of the law in relation to advances in housing matters for all". In this way, the Republicans have admitted that they can challenge "a dozen, not enough, articles of the norm, without stopping the application of the social advances that the law implies and that the Government deploys with determination."
The regional councilor for Territories, Ester Capella, has intervened in the debate to vindicate the defense of self-government and has announced that talks would be opened with the central government in this regard. But he also wanted to clear up doubts about the ERC Government's commitment to "defend the right to housing against speculation" and "extract the logic of the right to housing from the market", alluding to the approval of the law 11/ 2020, "the first to contain rental prices throughout the State".
But the groups in Parliament have delved into the "contradictions" of the Republicans, especially from the PSC and En Comú Podem. The socialist deputy Eva Candela has recalled that the Republicans worked "intensively" in the negotiations for the approval of the norm and has reproduced some assessments of the ERC deputies on the day of the vote on the norm: "It has been 405 days negotiating article for article. This law begins to lead the way, they said," according to Candela.
For his part, the spokesman for the commons, David Cid, has called on the Republicans "not to cover up their ideological differences -with Junts- with the excuse of the invasion of powers". Cid has lectured the Republicans, warning that "you cannot be at mass and chiming" and has called on the Government to exercise the powers it has because "we have had a lost decade in terms of housing."
Junts has not missed the opportunity to also delve into the contradiction of the Republicans. The deputy Mònica Sales has welcomed the "rectification" of ERC, but she has asked the Republicans for unity of action in Madrid, at the same time she has demanded coherence from the Government. Words that were later replicated by the ERC deputy Pau Morales, who also threw a taunt at Junts, celebrating that the post-convergent formation has now opened up to the "path of political negotiation" that "would have helped us if some deputies had not inhibited the last legislature". The parliamentarian was pleased with sarcasm that Junts has now adopted a discourse marked by the "inseparability of the social fact with the national one".
