Spain’s government eyes rent controls in new housing bill

MADRID (AP) — Spain’s left-wing ruling coalition says it wants to rein in soaring housing costs by imposing rent increase caps on landlords who own 10 or more residential properties. Government ministers approved draft rent control legislation during a weekly Cabinet meeting. on Tuesday. The government says vulnerable families and young adults in the country’s biggest cities would be the main beneficiaries. Opposition parties and leaders of business organizations have criticized the proposal as an improper intervention in the free market by Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez’s government. The government hasn’t yet published the draft so details weren’t immediately available. But officials say it includes tax discounts for landlords with fewer than nine properties who lower their rents.