News, 5 October 2026
Spain will hold an early general election on Sunday 29 November 2026. Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez announced it on Monday 5 October, saying he had informed King Felipe VI and that the Council of Ministers would meet that day to formalise the dissolution of parliament, per La Moncloa and IMI Daily. La Moncloa said the dissolution decree would appear in the official gazette (BOE) the next day; we had not seen it when we wrote this (verify).
The trigger was a defeat in Congress on Friday 2 October. Two housing decree-laws, both dated 29 September, failed to win the vote MPs must hold to keep a decree-law in force, and the BOE has published Congress’s resolutions repealing both. Real Decreto-ley 26/2026 would have required temporary (seasonal) leases to be backed by a documented need to be away from home and capped them at 12 months without justification. It would also have stopped room-by-room rents adding up to more than the rent for the whole flat. And it would have suspended some evictions of vulnerable households until 31 December 2030. Real Decreto-ley 27/2026 dealt with the stability of main-home leases; AP describes it as letting tenants renew automatically. Per AP, Junts, the PP and Vox voted against both decrees, and the PNV and Coalición Canaria opposed the second.
What it means for you
Nothing changes on the ground yet. The existing rental rules stay as they are, because neither decree survived. The digital nomad visa and the Beckham Law special tax regime come from existing legislation, mainly the 2022 Startups Act, and an election does not alter them. Any change would need a new government and new laws. The golden visa is already gone: Ley Orgánica 1/2025 abolished all investor residence visas from 3 April 2025. Bills that had not finished going through parliament lapse when it is dissolved.
What comes next depends on who forms the next government. Per IMI Daily, the PP opposed the golden visa abolition, and one adviser it quotes expects a centre-right win to bring back investment incentives. We have not seen a party manifesto that commits to restoring the golden visa or changing the nomad visa, so treat that as speculation for now. If you are planning a move, rental contracts and permit applications signed under current law are what count. We will update when the manifestos and results are out.
Full guide: Spain digital nomad visa: requirements, income and Beckham Law · Cost of living in Spain (2026): Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia, Málaga
Sources
- IMI Daily: Spain to hold snap election on November 29 after Congress rejects housing decrees
- La Moncloa: Pedro Sánchez announces the calling of general elections for November 29th
- AP via ABC News: Spain’s government dealt a blow after parliament rejects housing measures
- BOE: Real Decreto-ley 26/2026 (consolidated text)
- BOE: Acuerdo de derogación del Real Decreto-ley 26/2026
- BOE: Acuerdo de derogación del Real Decreto-ley 27/2026
- Garrigues: El Real Decreto-ley 26/2026 endurece la regulación de los arrendamientos
- La Moncloa: El 3 de abril entra en vigor el fin de las Golden Visa
This is general information from the Nomad Forums team, not immigration, tax or legal advice. Rules change; check the official source or a qualified adviser before applying.
Over to you: Are any of you holding off on signing a Spanish lease or filing a nomad visa application until after 29 November? If you rent on a temporary contract now, has your landlord said anything about the decree falling?