Spain's Housing Decree Falls After 24 Hours: What the Congressional Vote Means for Costa del Sol Rentals Congress rejected the housing decree-law by 178 votes to 172, killing measures that would have added 10% VAT to short lets and IBI surcharges on tourist homes. For the coast's rental owners, the previous framework stands. Spain's controversial housing decree-law died in Madrid on Friday, barely 24 hours after it entered into force. The Congress of Deputies rejected its validation by 178 votes to 172, with the PP, Vox, Junts and UPN voting against, and Congress President Francina Armengol declaring the decree derogated on the spot. The text — approved by the Council of Ministers on Tuesday and published in the Official State Gazette on 30 September — was the government's most ambitious housing intervention in years: a 2% cap on rent increases into 2027, a 10% income-tax deduction for tenants, a legal definition of affordable housing at 30% of a municipality's median income, restrictions on corporate buyers acquiring homes below 70% of appraised value, protection for vulnerable tenants facing eviction, and — most watched on this coast — measures aimed squarely at the short-term rental market. What Falls for the Costa del Sol Three of the decree's measures mattered directly to the thousands of holiday-let owners between Málaga and Manilva. Short-let VAT. From December, rentals of up to 30 nights would have been taxed at 10% VAT. With the rejection, the previous regime stands: 10% for owners who provide hotel-style services alongside the rental, and exemption for those who do not. Sector associations pointed out the final text had already dropped an initial proposal of 21%. IBI surcharges. Councils would have been able to apply property-tax surcharges of up to 150% on tourist-use homes in tensioned zones. That power now lapses. Seasonal and room rentals. The new rules on seasonal lets and room-by-room rentals, and the new sanctioning regime tied to the single-window tourist accommodation register, also fall with the vote. A Pause, Not an End Housing Minister Isabel Rodríguez had appealed to opposition groups — above all Junts — to abstain and let the decree through; the president of the government insisted on Friday that his administration will not take "one step back" on housing policy. Vacation-rental associations, including AVVAPRO together with FEDERATUR and APARTURE, welcomed the vote, crediting weeks of coordinated sector lobbying. For owners and investors on the coast, the practical effect is a return to the status quo: Andalusia's own tourist-housing rules, municipal registers and license requirements continue to apply exactly as before Friday's vote. What the vote does not deliver is certainty. Government sources have signalled that new legislative initiatives on housing will follow, and sector associations are already warning their members to stay alert. The baseline for the Costa del Sol rental market is unchanged — but this is a pause, not the end of the story.