https://feeds.thelocal.com/ Read the latest news and views from Spain in English en-us news@thelocal.com (TheLocal) webmaster@thelocal.com (TheLocal) TheLocal RSS Feed Brussels has again called out Madrid for taxing second home owners in Spain unfairly, giving them two months to take action or face litigation from the European Court of Justice. https://www.thelocal.es/20260504/eu-issues-ultimatum-to-spain-over-non-resident-property-tax Mon, 04 May 2026 15:08:39 +0200 eu-issues-ultimatum-to-spain-over-non-resident-property-tax If you're a non-resident in Spain, there are certain services and rights you will have access to and others that you won't. Read on if you're on the fence about whether you should become a Spanish resident or remain a non-resident. https://www.thelocal.es/20250520/what-you-can-and-cannot-do-as-a-non-resident-in-spain Tue, 20 May 2025 10:22:08 +0200 what-you-can-and-cannot-do-as-a-non-resident-in-spain The EU has moved to tighten rules on pet passports, closing a loophole that has been used by many British second-home owners since Brexit. https://www.thelocal.es/20260422/eu-tightens-rules-for-brits-travelling-to-europe-with-pets Wed, 22 Apr 2026 09:29:35 +0200 eu-tightens-rules-for-brits-travelling-to-europe-with-pets Despite record home sales in Spain in 2025, new data shows that the number of purchases by non-resident foreigners fell last year, suggesting that the threat of limits on foreign buyers could be dissuading many potential second home owners. https://www.thelocal.es/20260409/non-resident-foreigners-buy-fewer-properties-in-spain Thu, 09 Apr 2026 11:04:19 +0200 non-resident-foreigners-buy-fewer-properties-in-spain Following a court ruling last year that eliminated a tax penalty on non-residents paying wealth tax in Spain, the Spanish government is now moving to bring rules on the 'millionaire tax' in line. https://www.thelocal.es/20260326/spain-to-scrap-penalty-for-non-residents-paying-millionaire-tax Thu, 26 Mar 2026 16:01:39 +0100 spain-to-scrap-penalty-for-non-residents-paying-millionaire-tax Barcelona mayor Jaume Collboni on Wednesday said that if possible he "would prohibit" British, American and other foreigners from outside of the EU from buying second homes in the Catalan capital. https://www.thelocal.es/20260219/barcelona-mayor-would-ban-non-eu-second-home-owners Thu, 19 Feb 2026 10:28:51 +0100 barcelona-mayor-would-ban-non-eu-second-home-owners Far-left party and former government coalition partner Podemos has called for a temporary ban on property purchases by non-resident foreigners in Spain, regardless of whether they're residents in the EU or not. https://www.thelocal.es/20250828/spains-hard-left-calls-for-property-sale-ban-for-all-non-residents Thu, 28 Aug 2025 15:14:42 +0200 spains-hard-left-calls-for-property-sale-ban-for-all-non-residents Spain's National High court has ruled against the Spanish government's MO of not letting people deduct expenses when declaring rental income if they own property in Spain, but don't reside in the EU. This sets a precedent for the planned 100 percent property tax. https://www.thelocal.es/20250822/spains-100-property-tax-for-foreigners-weakened-by-new-court-ruling Fri, 22 Aug 2025 14:00:31 +0200 spains-100-property-tax-for-foreigners-weakened-by-new-court-ruling The Finance Minister of the Canaries has dampened hopes of the islands imposing a total prohibition on foreign property ownership by saying it's "not authorised" by EU law, while stressing that some justified limitations could be negotiated. https://www.thelocal.es/20250801/minister-rules-out-absolute-ban-on-foreign-buyers-in-spains-canaries Fri, 01 Aug 2025 16:17:23 +0200 minister-rules-out-absolute-ban-on-foreign-buyers-in-spains-canaries The European Commission has opened a formal case against Spain, criticising the way in which the Treasury taxes non-resident property owners, a sign of what may happen with the controversial 100 percent property tax proposed for non-EU buyers. https://www.thelocal.es/20250620/eu-slams-spain-for-taxing-non-residents-on-theoretical-property-earnings Fri, 20 Jun 2025 16:10:06 +0200 eu-slams-spain-for-taxing-non-residents-on-theoretical-property-earnings If you own a Spanish property that you're not using, the government wants to raise your taxes in order to encourage you to put it on the rental market, one of several fiscal changes Prime Minister Sánchez wants to implement to fix the housing crisis. https://www.thelocal.es/20250528/why-having-an-empty-home-in-spain-could-soon-cost-you-more Wed, 28 May 2025 13:47:25 +0200 why-having-an-empty-home-in-spain-could-soon-cost-you-more Non-resident foreigners and Spanish nationals with homes on Mallorca will only be allowed one vehicle per property as local authorities look for ways to address the Spanish island’s overtourism and traffic problems. https://www.thelocal.es/20250527/mallorcas-second-home-owners-to-be-allowed-only-one-car Tue, 27 May 2025 13:21:42 +0200 mallorcas-second-home-owners-to-be-allowed-only-one-car It’s been nine years since the UK voted to leave the EU, but the end of Spain’s golden visa residency scheme serves as ongoing proof of the increasing loss of freedoms Britons face as a result of Brexit, argues The Local Spain’s editor Alex Dunham. https://www.thelocal.es/20250403/opinion-end-of-spains-golden-visa-is-a-reminder-that-brexit-drawbacks-continue Thu, 03 Apr 2025 14:22:44 +0200 opinion-end-of-spains-golden-visa-is-a-reminder-that-brexit-drawbacks-continue Amid government attempts to restrict property purchases by some non-resident foreigners in Spain, new data reveals that non-Spanish nationals who don't live in the country accounted for 8 percent of total property purchases in 2024. https://www.thelocal.es/20250317/how-many-properties-did-non-resident-foreigners-buy-in-spain-in-2024 Mon, 17 Mar 2025 16:33:22 +0100 how-many-properties-did-non-resident-foreigners-buy-in-spain-in-2024 Spain's Prime Minister has justified taxing or even banning non-EU non-residents from buying Spanish homes because they want "to speculate", but the stats prove there are far bigger fish to fry in Spain's housing crisis. https://www.thelocal.es/20250122/are-non-eu-property-buyers-really-to-blame-for-spains-housing-crisis Wed, 22 Jan 2025 10:22:45 +0100 are-non-eu-property-buyers-really-to-blame-for-spains-housing-crisis Estate agents are warning that Spain's proposed property ban and supertax on non-resident non-EU nationals could cause a 'boomerang effect' as enquiries soar, the same unintended consequence that the end of the golden visa scheme had. https://www.thelocal.es/20250123/foreigners-urged-to-buy-now-as-threat-of-spains-property-ban-or-tax-looms Thu, 23 Jan 2025 17:45:25 +0100 foreigners-urged-to-buy-now-as-threat-of-spains-property-ban-or-tax-looms In a further move to potentially limit property purchases by foreigners in Spain, Barcelona city council is exploring ways to ban investment funds and non-residents from buying homes in the Catalan capital that won't be used for residential purposes. https://www.thelocal.es/20250123/barcelona-eyes-banning-non-residents-from-buying-homes Thu, 23 Jan 2025 15:05:03 +0100 barcelona-eyes-banning-non-residents-from-buying-homes The Spanish government's proposal to limit non-EU non-resident property buyers has generally caused a lot of anger outside Spain and has been called into question by experts. But what do our readers really think of it? https://www.thelocal.es/20250120/locals-should-have-priority-your-views-on-spains-property-tax-for-foreigners Mon, 20 Jan 2025 14:29:22 +0100 locals-should-have-priority-your-views-on-spains-property-tax-for-foreigners Within a week, Spain's PM went from saying that non-EU non-residents will be taxed at 100 percent when buying Spanish homes to proposing they be completely banned from purchasing properties. Why is he upping the ante? https://www.thelocal.es/20250120/why-does-spain-now-want-to-totally-ban-some-foreign-home-buyers Mon, 20 Jan 2025 09:40:25 +0100 why-does-spain-now-want-to-totally-ban-some-foreign-home-buyers Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez proposed on Sunday to ban people outside the EU from buying housing in the country, as part of his drive to ease an affordable-homes crisis. https://www.thelocal.es/20250119/spains-pm-proposes-to-ban-home-purchases-by-non-eu-buyers Sun, 19 Jan 2025 16:33:44 +0100 spains-pm-proposes-to-ban-home-purchases-by-non-eu-buyers