![\"Graffiti](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/SEI_253322070-73aa.jpg\")
\n\t\tSpanish young people have grown increasingly frustrated over the lack of affordable homes (Picture: Bloomberg via Getty Images)<\/p>\n
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\n\t\tSpanish young people have grown increasingly frustrated over the lack of affordable homes (Picture: Bloomberg via Getty Images)<\/p>\n
Britons hoping to buy their dream house in Spain<\/a> will face a 100% tax as part of new plans proposed by the government<\/a>. <\/p>\n All non-EU residents will face the tax on real-estate purchases, part of a bill that officials say will help ease Spain\u2019s housing crunch.<\/p>\n This means that a Briton buying a \u20ac300,000 villa\u00a0will have to cough up \u20ac600,000 instead. <\/p>\n EU citizens, including Germans, who are second to Britons as the highest number of foreign buyers in Spain<\/a>, will be exempt.<\/p>\n Prime Minister\u00a0Pedro S\u00e1nchez\u2019s Socialist party submitted the bill to parliament<\/a> last week to promote \u2018measures that enable access to housing, since we are facing one of the largest problems our society is currently confronted with\u2019, according to a draft of the bill seen by Bloomberg<\/a>. <\/p>\n Spain is running out of affordable homes, especially in major cities like Madrid<\/a> and Barcelona<\/a>.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\tReady to start your homebuying journey?\t\t\t<\/p>\n You can access completely fee-free mortgage advice with London & Country (L&C) Mortgages, a partner of Metro. Customers benefit from:<\/p>\n \u2013 Award winning service from the UK\u2019s leading mortgage broker<\/p>\n \u2013 Expert advisors on hand 7 days a week<\/p>\n \u2013 Access to 1000s of mortgage deals from across the market<\/p>\n Unlike many mortgage brokers, L&C won\u2019t charge you a fee for their advice.<\/p>\n Find out how much you could borrow online<\/a><\/p>\n Mortgage service provided by London & Country Mortgages (L&C), which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (registered number: 143002). The FCA does not regulate most Buy to Let mortgages. Your home or property may be repossessed if you do not keep up repayments on your mortgage.<\/p>\n \t\t \t\t Rents have been rising for years amid gentrification, a decline in housing construction and landlords snapping up homes for short-term tourist rentals<\/a>, like on Airbnb<\/a>.<\/p>\n Some 412,000 Britons call Spain home, according to 2022 figures. <\/p>\n But the number has only increased since. Britons bought 12,470 Spanish properties in 2023, 30% more than Germans, with 9,611 purchases.<\/p>\n Spain\u2019s cost of living and property prices are lower than the UK<\/a>, with the country having several British expat communities like M\u00e1laga and Alicante.<\/p>\n Hundreds of thousands of people marched in 40 Spanish cities to protest against the rent hikes and lack of cheap homes in April, rattling keys and holding up high flags with the Monopoly man on them. <\/p>\n They chanted: \u2018Housing is a right, not a business.\u2019<\/p>\n \t\t \t\t S\u00e1nchez in January described the lack of housing as one \u2018of the main challenges facing European societies, including Spain\u2019.<\/p>\n He outlined 12 \u2018forceful and unprecedented\u2019 measures to offer more housing, better support buyers and more tightly regulate the market, including the 100% tax. <\/p>\n The measures also include tax breaks for landlords who lower rents and plans to build low-cost housing. The legislation, if passed, would increase VAT on short-term rentals and hike taxes on publicly-listed real estate investment trusts.<\/p>\n Foreign business workers or professional workers based in Spain will not be affected.<\/p>\n \t\t Last year, the average cost of renting a flat in Spain was \u20ac984 per month, up from \u20ac553 in 2014, a 78% increase.<\/p>\n The highest rent increase has been seen in the Balearic Islands, known for their blue-green waters, with a 158% rise over the past decade.<\/p>\n S\u00e1nchez, speaking at an event in Madrid called \u2018Housing, fifth pillar of the welfare state\u2019, stressed that housing in Europe is \u2018unfair\u2019. <\/p>\n \u2018The West faces a decisive challenge if it wants to avoid becoming a society divided into two classes,\u2019 he added, \u2018rich landlords and poor tenants.\u2019<\/p>\n Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk<\/a>.<\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n For more stories like this, <\/strong>check our news page<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n Arrow Arrow![\"Thousands](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/SEI_253322122-a9bd.jpg\")
\n\t\tThousands took to the streets of Barcelona to demand lower housing costs in April (Picture: NurPhoto)<\/p>\n![\"Protestor](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/SEI_253322130-c6a1.jpg\")
\n\t\tRents have been rising for years (Picture: VW Pics\/Universal Images Group)<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/SEI_253322062-569c.jpg\")
\n\t\tHundreds of thousands of Britons live in Spain (Picture: Getty Images)<\/p>\n![\"Spain's](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/SEI_253322116-69b4.jpg\")
\n\t\tPedro Sanchez announced the 100% tax in January, one of 12 policies to give Spanish people a better chance at joining the property ladder (Picture: AFP)<\/p>\n![\"MADRID,](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/SEI_253322175-7a78.jpg\")
\n\t\tWhether the bill will be approved by parliament is unclear (Picture: Europa Press\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n
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