Spanish Housing Protesters Press Parliament Ahead of Vote

Hundreds of demonstrators gathered outside Madrid City Hall on Oct. 2, banging pots and pans and calling on lawmakers to address Spain’s housing crisis ahead of a parliamentary vote, Euronews reported. The rally followed encampments by thousands of mostly young activists in Madrid and other Spanish cities, according to The Straits Times.¹²

An eviction galvanises protests

The Straits Times reported that the protests began after Maricarmen Abascal, 87, was evicted from the Madrid home where she had lived for more than 70 years. A subsequent agreement with Urbagestion allowed her to return at the same rent, according to the newspaper. It reported on Sept. 30 that Abascal remained in hospital after the eviction and was expected to go home.¹

The case prompted thousands of protesters, many of them young, to camp in Madrid’s main square and other cities, The Straits Times reported. Julio Gomez, a 32-year-old pharmaceutical worker, said he was prepared to remain in a tent in Puerta del Sol “as long as it takes”. He described the government’s measures as a possible first step but said they did not go far enough.¹

Measures face a divided chamber

Spain’s leftist minority government has put forward two decrees containing housing protections, according to The Straits Times. The first includes a ban on evicting vulnerable tenants until 2030, a two-year extension of a rent freeze for existing leases and stricter rules governing short-term rentals. The second would allow rental contracts to be renewed automatically and without a fixed end date.¹

According to The Straits Times, the decrees must clear the 350-member Congress of Deputies, but the government controls only 147 seats and needs backing from minor parties such as Junts to enact legislation. The newspaper said the second decree, one of the protesters’ central demands, was expected to fail because it lacked the minimum support required.¹

Junts, a centre-right Catalan separatist party with seven lawmakers, opposed the proposals and asked the government to prepare a new plan before the scheduled vote, according to The Straits Times. The party argued that the measures would shrink the supply of rental homes, increase prices and make housing less accessible to people with limited financial resources. Other opposition parties had also indicated that they would not support the decree.¹

Demands for lasting security

Euronews reported that the Madrid demonstrators called for measures addressing rising rents and evictions. Protesters said young adults should not have to remain in their parents’ homes into their thirties and argued that housing conditions were preventing many people from living independently or starting families. Homeowners and tenants at the demonstration said temporary measures were inadequate and called for long-term security in their homes.²

The Straits Times reported that rents had doubled during the previous decade to an average of €1,176 a month, equivalent to 98.7 per cent of the average salary of a young person. Some activists nevertheless regarded the proposed protections as insufficient. Madrid’s Tenants’ Union called parts of the package “crumbs” while also describing the government’s move as a “historic victory”.¹

Housing protests also affected an eviction in Burjassot, where dozens of people gathered to support university professor Daniel Gonzalez, The Straits Times reported. Court officials postponed his eviction for at least 10 days after the protest. Gonzalez said that throughout a period exceeding 17 years, he had never been late with a rental payment.¹