TU CASA is back: what the government approved on 6 October, and what it means if you're buying

What happened

• 2 October: Congress rejects both housing decree-laws, and TU CASA falls with them.
• 6 October: the Council of Ministers approves them again, with changes. The government talks about 21 measures.
• 7 October: the BOE publishes both decrees.
  • Royal Decree-law 29/2026, with TU CASA and almost every other measure, comes into force on 8 October.
  • Royal Decree-law 28/2026, on automatic renewal of rental contracts, says it comes into force on 15 November.
• Now: with a general election called for 29 November, the Diputación Permanente of Congress has to validate the decrees. It has 30 days, and if it doesn't validate them, they lapse.

According to Idealista, 29/2026 has the support to pass. 28/2026 doesn't: the government itself admits it doesn't have the votes.

TU CASA, point by point

What the decree says:

• It's a 0% loan with no fees for people buying their first home to live in with a mortgage. It tops up the mortgage, it doesn't replace it.
• It covers 20% of the home's value or €50.000, whichever is lower. On a €200.000 flat that's €40.000, and from €250.000 up it's always €50.000.
• You pay it back over up to 10 years, after a grace period equal to the mortgage term, up to 30 years.
• The ICO runs it, with an initial €10 billion.
• The text sets no age limit.
• The flat gets a permanent resale cap: what you paid, updated with inflation, plus the value of some improvement works on terms still to be set.
• If you rent it out, the rent can't go above the maximum set by the reference price index.

What's still missing:

• A Council of Ministers agreement setting who qualifies and the limits.
• The agreement with the ICO, which banks offer it, and how you apply.
• A date for applications.

As of today, you can't apply for it.

The fine print that matters most

With €50.000 at 0% on the table, it's easy to skip the rest. But if you use TU CASA, the flat is capped for good: you can never sell it for more than you paid, updated with inflation. And if you ever rent it out, the rent is capped too.

If you think you might sell within a few years, or you're counting on the flat going up in value, run the numbers before you apply.

Don't mix it up with regional schemes

Regional schemes are separate from TU CASA and the national decrees. Check which region a headline is about before you plan around it.

Catalonia's "compra conjunta". The Generalitat wants to co-buy flats with people aged 40 and over. It would pay 50% of the price for buyers aged 40 to 55, or 60% from 56, and you'd get long-term use of the flat. On 1 October the Parlament voted against it, but that vote was non-binding. On 3 October the Govern said the scheme doesn't need the Parlament's approval and that it still plans a first call in early 2027, with €100 million for around 2.000 flats. There's nothing to apply for yet, so wait for the actual call before you plan around it.

Madrid's "Mi Primera Vivienda". The Comunidad de Madrid guarantees mortgages of up to 100% for a first home. Since April 2026 the age limit is 50 and the price cap is €425.000. It's live, it has its own conditions, and it doesn't depend on the decrees.

The other measures, by who they affect

All of this is in Royal Decree-law 29/2026, unless it says otherwise.

If you're buying

• TU CASA (above).
• 4% VAT, the super-reduced rate, on sales of permanently protected housing, with the garages (up to two) and annexes sold with it. This affects protected new builds.
• More supply: up to €280 million in guarantees for industrialised construction, a €400 million fund for social and affordable housing, and state and Social Security properties moving to CASA 47, the public housing company. None of these gives you money to buy, but they're aimed at getting more homes built.

If you rent

• A 10% income tax deduction on the rent for your main home if your taxable income is under €33.007,20. The maximum base is €11.630 a year, so the deduction can reach €1.163, and it shrinks from €23.007,20. The numbers and what's still unclear are in our rent deduction guide.
• An extra extension of up to two years, a year at a time, for main-home contracts ending before 31 December 2028, if you're up to date with the rent.
• Rent rises capped at 2% until 31 December 2027, unless you agree something new. If your rent is already above the reference index maximum, it can't go up at all.
• Seasonal lets: more than 31 days and, as a rule, no more than 12 months. There has to be a real reason you can prove. If there isn't, the contract becomes a normal main-home lease.
• Room lets: the rent for all the rooms together can't be more than the rent for the whole flat.
• Rental ads have to show the reference index and, where it applies, the last contract's rent, the legal limit and whether the landlord is a large owner.
• Evictions: more protection for vulnerable households. If a vulnerable tenant can't pay, the authorities have two months to offer them a home or pay what's owed.

If you're a landlord or investor

• An income tax reduction on rental income for landlords who aren't large owners and sign a new contract cutting the rent by more than 5%. Under some conditions it can reach 100%.
• Buying below 70% of value: until 31 December 2030 this is restricted for entities that buy homes or bad-loan portfolios far below their value, and for large owners.
• SOCIMIs (Spanish property investment companies): a 25% levy on rental profits they don't pay out, with discounts if most of their homes are let at affordable rents or if they reinvest in affordable rentals.
• Tourist flats: from 1 December 2026, 10% VAT on furnished flats let for 30 nights or less that aren't the owner's main home.
• IBI: in high-pressure areas, councils will be able to add a surcharge on tourist flats that rises with the number the owner has. The rules for empty homes change too. Each council decides whether to use it.

Royal Decree-law 28/2026 changes the urban leases law. After the first five years (seven if the landlord is a company), the contract would roll over for five- or seven-year periods. The tenant could leave with two months' notice. The landlord would need to give six months' notice and, outside the reasons the law sets, compensate the tenant. Its text says it comes into force on 15 November, but it lapses if it isn't validated, and the government admits it doesn't have the support today.

A note: we checked TU CASA and the main measures against the BOE text published on 7 October. This is a summary, not legal advice. For your own case, check the BOE or ask your notary or a lawyer.

If you're buying right now

• Don't count on TU CASA in your budget yet. The agreement on who qualifies is missing, the decree still needs validating, and there's no date to apply.
• Ask your bank whether it will take part and how it would fit with your mortgage. And get the FEIN, the bank's binding offer, in writing before you sign arras.
• Think about the resale cap and the rent cap before you decide whether it's worth it.
• The usual checks don't change: your region's ITP, the building's ITE, the real m². It's all in our checklist for checking a flat before you buy.