Spain housing crisis: Protests erupt as Pedro Sánchez suffers key parliament defeat
Tens of thousands are set to march in 50 cities after MPs blocked laws drawn up in the wake of an 87-year-old woman's eviction.
Spain’s minority government is facing a major political crisis and a wave of national demonstrations after parliament rejected two emergency decrees designed to protect tenants and curb soaring rents.
The legislative defeat on Friday has prompted the main opposition leader to demand a snap general election, while housing activists prepare to march in more than 50 cities.
Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez’s progressive coalition had rushed the measures to parliament following intense public outrage over the eviction of 87-year-old María del Carmen Abascal. Known widely as Maricarmen, the wheelchair user was carried out of her central Madrid home of seven decades on a stretcher on 23 September.
Although the property's new investment-firm owners eventually capitulated and agreed to let her return at a low rent, her eviction became a symbol of a dysfunctional housing market. Protesters have spent a week camping out in Madrid's central Puerta del Sol square under the banner "Not even one more Maricarmen."
But on Friday, Mr Sánchez’s fragile legislative coalition fractured. The Catalan separatist party Junts voted with the centre-right Popular Party (PP) and the far-right Vox to defeat the bills. Junts claimed the proposals lacked rigour.
The rejection left the Prime Minister exposed. Alberto Núñez Feijóo, leader of the PP, immediately urged Mr Sánchez to call an election, declaring that the Prime Minister has the backing of "neither the streets nor parliament." Rumours have already begun circulating in Madrid that Mr Sánchez might bring forward the national election, currently scheduled for 2027.
What were the proposed measures?
The defeated package would have automatically renewed expiring rental contracts, restricted the eviction of vulnerable tenants, and targeted "vulture funds" — investment firms that buy cheap properties to drive up rental yields.
Spain's housing crisis has been building for years. Rents have nearly doubled over the past decade, while house prices have jumped by about 90 per cent, according to the real estate portal Idealista.
Government figures show that 26 per cent of Spanish renters spend at least 40 per cent of their income on rent and utilities. The European Union average is 18 per cent.
Making matters worse, Spain's public housing stock is among the lowest in the developed world, accounting for less than 2 per cent of available properties compared to an EU average of 8 per cent.
What happens next?
Demonstrators are expected to converge on Madrid's Plaza de Cibeles, with parallel protests planned in dozens of cities across the country.
The Tenants’ Union, which is coordinating the marches, said the parliamentary vote exposed a deep systemic divide. "There is an irreparable disconnect between what the people want and what the parties vote for," the group said in a statement.
Key numbers
| What | Figure | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Increase in Spanish rent over the past decade | almost 100% | Idealista |
| Increase in Spanish home purchase asking prices over the past decade | 90% | Idealista |
| Proportion of Spanish renters spending over 40% of income on housing | 26% | Spanish Government |
| EU average of renters spending over 40% of income on housing | 18% | Spanish Government |
| Publicly owned rental housing stock in Spain | under 2% | OECD |
| EU average publicly owned rental housing stock | 8% | OECD |
In this story
| Name | Role in the story |
|---|---|
| Madrid | The capital of Spain, where the eviction occurred and where major protests are taking place. |
| Maricarmen Abascal | The 87-year-old evicted woman whose removal sparked the national protests. |
| Pedro Sánchez | Prime Minister of Spain whose minority government suffered the legislative defeat. |
