Spanish Protesters March on Parliament as Emergency Housing Measures Face Rejection

Spain’s government appeared headed for defeat on Friday as lawmakers prepared to reject two emergency housing decrees aimed at easing the country’s worsening affordability crisis.

While protesters gathered outside Parliament demanding greater protection for renters. The Catalan separatist party Junts, whose support was crucial to passing the measures, announced Friday morning that it would vote against both decrees. With the centre-right Popular Party and far-right Vox also opposing them, the government appeared unlikely to secure the votes needed for approval.

The setback also fuelled speculation in Spanish media that Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez could bring forward national elections scheduled for next year. Sánchez did not comment as he arrived at Parliament in central Madrid, while his office did not immediately respond to questions about the possibility of a snap election.

The vote comes amid mounting anger over housing costs, intensified by the televised eviction last week of 87-year-old Maricarmen Abascal from her Madrid home. The incident triggered protests and a camp-in at one of the capital’s main squares and turned Abascal into a symbol of Spain’s housing crisis.

Outside Parliament, protesters displayed homemade signs featuring vultures, accusing property speculators of contributing to soaring housing costs.

“The right-wing parties have united to vote against the interests of the majority of people who are here, of the workers of Spain,” said Carla Cremonte, a 34-year-old office worker.

“I don’t know what might happen, whether elections will be called, but in the streets, we will continue fighting and the atmosphere is one of a general strike,” she said.

RENTS NEARLY DOUBLE IN A DECADE

Spain’s housing crisis has intensified as rents have surged and home ownership has become increasingly difficult for many people.

According to real estate website Idealista, average rents have nearly doubled over the past decade, rising from €8.20 per square metre in 2016 to €15.10 this year.

Abascal’s eviction became a flashpoint in the debate. The company that removed her eventually reversed course following intense public and political pressure and said she could return to the apartment.

Abascal, who was taken to hospital after being removed from her home on a stretcher, was still receiving treatment. Her lawyer said she was relieved to know she would be able to return home.

WHAT THE HOUSING DECREES PROPOSED

Spain’s 350-seat Parliament began its session at 11 am on Friday.

The first decree sought to strengthen protections for vulnerable tenants, including measures to prevent evictions in cases similar to Abascal’s. It also proposed tighter rules on short-term rentals, measures targeting property speculation and tax incentives aimed at encouraging rental housing and new construction.

The second decree was more contentious. It proposed automatically renewing rental contracts when they expire, effectively making them indefinite unless certain conditions were met. Under the proposal, landlords seeking to terminate a contract would have been required to pay tenants compensation equivalent to 12 months’ rent.

JUNTS WITHDRAWS SUPPORT

Junts has been a crucial but often difficult partner for Sánchez since he formed his government in 2023.

Its leader, Carles Puigdemont, has lived in Belgium since leaving Spain after the failed 2017 attempt to establish an independent Catalonia.

Housing Minister Isabel Rodríguez made a final appeal to Junts from Parliament, saying the government had incorporated “90 percent of your proposals” and urging the party to either support the decrees or abstain.

But Junts lawmaker Míriam Nogueras rejected the appeal, arguing that the measures could encourage property owners to withdraw homes from the rental market and push prices even higher.

“These decrees still allow speculators to buy property and to evict people,” Nogueras said.

Junts called for further negotiations and amendments, but the government rejected that request, leaving the decrees facing defeat as protesters continued to demand stronger action on Spain’s housing crisis.