Across Spain, tens of thousands of citizens flooded city squares on Saturday demanding urgent safeguards for tenants. The demonstrations followed a dramatic parliamentary defeat of two emergency housing decrees that the Sánchez administration had hurriedly assembled after a high-profile eviction sparked nationwide outrage. Protesters argue that the rejected measures would have halted evictions of vulnerable renters, limited speculative purchases by investment funds, and extended lease terms, yet the legislation fell short of the public’s expectations.
In the capital, Madrid, the encampment at Puerta del Sol grew to over a thousand tents, turning the historic plaza into a makeshift community with a medical point, a co-working space and improvised street names. Demonstrators have camped there for a week, chanting slogans such as “your profits, our misery” and “housing is a right, not a market commodity.” The atmosphere remains charged, with nightly speeches from tenant-union leaders and a looming call for a nationwide general strike.
Protests sweep Spain’s major cities
Rallies were synchronized in at least fifty locations, from Valencia’s arts complex Palau de les Arts Reina Sofía to Barcelona’s Plaza de Catalunya. In Valencia, clashes erupted when a group of activists tore down police barriers and hurled objects, prompting officers to answer with rubber bullets. The Valencia Tenants’ Union reported “significant anger” on the streets, underscoring the depth of frustration after the government’s defeat in the lower house. Barcelona’s crowd, estimated at 70,000 by officials but far higher according to local organizers, demanded an outright ban on purchases by so-called vulture funds that buy residential property to flip for profit.
Other cities, including Seville, Zaragoza and Bilbao, saw smaller yet fervent assemblies. Organizers in each locale echoed the core demands: freeze rent hikes, protect senior citizens from eviction, and prohibit short-term tourist rentals that drive up prices. The protests have been largely peaceful, although isolated confrontations with police have drawn media attention and sparked debates about the right to demonstrate versus public order.
Parliament rejects emergency housing decrees
On Friday, the 350-seat Congress voted against both bills. The first decree, which sought to suspend evictions of vulnerable tenants until 2030, extend lease terms by two years and tax short-term tourist apartments, was rejected 178-172. The second decree, proposing automatic renewal of rental contracts unless a landlord paid a year’s rent to break the lease, fell 184-166. The opposition bloc—comprised of the centre-right People’s Party, the far-right Vox and the Catalan pro-independence Junts—argued the measures would tighten the market, drive owners out of the rental sector and ultimately raise rents.
prime minister Pedro Sánchez appealed to lawmakers, urging them to “think about ordinary people, the millions of young adults who cannot afford to move out of their parents’ homes.” He warned that history would judge those who refuse to act. Nevertheless, the coalition government, which lacks a parliamentary majority, could not marshal enough support from regional nationalist parties in Catalonia and the Basque Country, whose leaders withdrew backing at the eleventh hour.
Housing market under pressure
Spain’s housing shortage is acute. The Bank of Spain estimates a deficit of roughly 700,000 homes when demand is matched against new construction. National statistics show a 12.2 % rise in house prices over the past year, while rental costs surged 8.5 % in 2025, with Madrid experiencing a 9.7 % jump. Idealista reports that Barcelona and Madrid now rank as the most expensive Spanish cities for renters, at €23.80 and €22.70 per square metre respectively. Young tenants face average rents close to 99 % of their monthly earnings, a reality that fuels the street protests.
At the heart of the unrest lies the September 2023 eviction of 87-year-old Maricarmen Abascal, who had lived in her Madrid flat for seven decades. After the investment firm Urbagestión raised her rent from €500 to €2,650—a figure far exceeding her pension—her forced removal sparked the initial wave of demonstrations that have since ballooned into a national movement.
