Council motion to preserve rent controls
The CUP (Candidatura d'Unitat Popular) will present a motion at Reus municipal council on 23 October calling for the city to remain designated as a 'tensioned residential market' zone. This status allows for rent caps on new leases, and the motion seeks to extend it beyond its scheduled end in March 2027. The proposal urges the Catalan government (Generalitat) to review Reus’s exclusion from the latest list of municipalities eligible for rent regulation. The Generalitat removed Reus from the list in mid-2026, citing improved housing conditions, but the CUP and other local voices argue the housing crisis remains acute.
We need to keep one of the few legal tools available to limit rent prices on new contracts.
Rising rents despite regulation
The CUP cites data from property portal Idealista showing that rental prices per square metre in Reus have risen by 19.5% since the rent controls were first introduced. The party warns that removing the cap could accelerate this trend. The motion also calls on Reus council to update local housing data, including rental prices by neighbourhood, the number of vacant flats, and ownership types. It further requests a review of the national criteria used to determine which municipalities qualify for rent regulation, and suggests exploring supramunicipal solutions.
Local government response
Reus council has already formally challenged the Generalitat’s decision to remove the city from the regulated list. On 28 August 2026, Mayor Sandra Guaita confirmed the city had submitted objections, arguing that housing conditions still justify continued protection. While welcoming improvements, Guaita acknowledged the loss of the rent cap as a setback. The council’s challenge is now awaiting a response from the Generalitat. The CUP’s motion reinforces ongoing pressure to maintain rent controls, which apply to new tenancies and are based on previous lease amounts or regional reference indices. The party stresses that without such measures, low- and middle-income residents face growing insecurity in an increasingly unaffordable market.
Primary sources: transparencia.reus.cat, REUS.CAT, dtes.gencat.cat, govern.cat, habitatge.gencat.cat. Reported by diaridetarragona.com, Llibertat.cat, LANOVA Ràdio de Reus, apdnoticies.com, tarragonadigital.com, idealista.com, reusdigital.cat, diarimes.com.
