Spain approves one of housing decrees that triggered snap election

MADRID, Nov 12 - Spanish lawmakers on Thursday approved one of two housing decrees whose rejection by parliament last month triggered a November 29 early general election, a day after Wednesday's general strike in protest over housing costs.• By a one-vote margin, the standing body of 69 caretaker deputies who remain in place after parliament's dissolution passed the decree, which includes rent caps, a temporary ban on evictions and limits on corporate purchases of residential property• The body rejected, also by one vote, another measure, sought by tenants' associations, calling for the automatic renewal of rental contracts• The leftist government's measures, aimed at tackling rising housing costs, came into effect temporarily when the decrees were published in the official state gazette in early October• Opposition leader Alberto Nunez Feijoo, whose conservative People's Party leads in opinion polls, said on Wednesday he would repeal the decrees if he becomes prime minister• The opposition has argued that the measures only reduce housing supply and push up prices REUTERS