On Tuesday, the Balearic parliament approved the government's housing emergency measures, but this legislation did not include rent caps for so-called stressed areas, a feature of national housing law.
The main opposition party, PSOE, is to present a motion for these rent caps to be applied. The party has identified 47 municipalities that meet the criteria for stressed areas; there are 67 municipalities in all in the Balearics. A key criterion is where the cost to rent exceeds 30% of average household income.
In supporting these rent caps, there would be tax advantages for small owners - up to 90% tax relief. Large owners, defined as those with ten or more properties, would not qualify for this relief.
PSOE's Mercedes Garrido says that this motion would mean that "the citizens win and not the large owners as is the case with what was approved in parliament on Tuesday". PSOE and the other opposition parties voted against the government, while Vox abstained.
The chances of PSOE gaining parliamentary approval are remote. PP spokesperson Sebastià Sagreras says it will be rejected for being "interventionist". While there is the national law that permits rent caps, implementation has been delegated to the regions.