New measures to address the housing crisis have been approved by Spain’s coalition government, in the wake of mass protests that have taken place in several cities across the country in recent days.
One of the factors behind the intensification of the protests was the eviction of 87-year-old MariCarmen Abascal from her home in Madrid last week. Her case has become a symbol of Spain’s housing crisis.
The Cabinet approved two decrees on Tuesday, which take immediate effect but must receive the approval of the Spanish Parliament within one month. Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez’s government is even seeking to hold the relevant vote as early as Friday.
Among the key measures is the extension of the suspension of evictions until 2030, as well as the extension of existing rental contracts until 2028.
At the same time, a stricter framework is being introduced for short-term rentals and room rentals, while a ban on investment companies purchasing homes is also being proposed.
Health Minister and member of the Sumar alliance, Mónica García, said the measures could provide relief to more than five million people.
“It is time to intervene in the speculative housing market and begin restoring the balance between ordinary citizens and the so-called ‘vulture funds’,” she said.
Referring to the recent protests, García thanked the protesters, saying: “Thanks to the protests and the protest camps. Without you, this would not have been possible.”
Opposition reactions
The Sánchez government, however, does not have a parliamentary majority and will need the support of other parties to pass the measures.
The spokesperson for the centre-right Catalan party Junts, Míriam Nogueras, was particularly critical of the treatment of small property owners.
“We all agree that evictions should stop when the property belongs to an investment fund, a ‘vulture fund’, managing millions of euros,” she said on Spain’s public broadcaster RTVE.
She added, however, that “it is wrong to put in the same category people who have invested their savings in an apartment, a restaurant or a property.”
Junts and other right-wing parties have expressed reservations about housing-market interventions that strengthen the position of tenants vis-à-vis landlords.
The government has 30 days from the publication of the decrees to secure parliamentary approval for them.
The case of the 87-year-old that sparked outrage
The case of MariCarmen Abascal has been at the centre of developments.
The 87-year-old was forcibly removed from her apartment in Madrid and, according to reports, taken to hospital on a stretcher. Her lawyer announced before the government’s decision that an agreement had been reached with the company that owns the property, under which Abascal would be able to return to her home. She has not yet signed the agreement, however.
Her family had rented the apartment since 1956. Abascal continued to live there after her parents’ death, paying a controlled rent.
In 2018, the property was purchased by the investment company Urbagestión, which increased the monthly rent to a level higher than the 87-year-old’s pension, leaving her unable to pay it.
Her case is not an isolated incident. In Zaragoza, the eviction of another woman was temporarily suspended on Tuesday. Fifty-one-year-old Esmeralda Tejero has lived in an apartment in the city with her 11-year-old daughter for eight years. As she told a Spanish media outlet, she eventually stopped paying the rent because she could no longer cover it alongside her everyday living expenses.
Thousands take to the streets
The protests over the housing crisis began last week in Madrid and quickly spread to Barcelona, Seville, Málaga and Cádiz. Thousands of people took part in a march in Madrid on Saturday, calling for stronger protection for tenants at a time when the country is facing a significant housing shortage and rising rents. Hundreds of tents have been set up in Madrid’s famous Puerta del Sol square, where the protests are continuing.
The Bank of Spain estimates that the country is facing a shortfall of around 700,000 homes, based on the gap between demand and new housing construction.
At the same time, house prices rose by 12.2% year-on-year in the second quarter of 2026, according to figures from Spain’s National Statistics Institute (INE). In the rental market, prices rose by 8.5% in 2025, according to real estate company Idealista. In Madrid, the increase reached 9.7%.
Idealista ranks Madrid and Barcelona among Spain’s most expensive cities for renting a home, with the average cost standing at €22.70 per square metre in Madrid and €23.80 in Barcelona.
“The fight has just begun”
Tenant organisations welcomed the government measures with cautious satisfaction, warning that they would closely monitor the parliamentary process.
“The fight has just begun,” said Valeria Raku, a spokesperson for the Madrid Tenants’ Union, while also calling for new protests across Spain next weekend.
“We are all keeping our eyes on the text, on the small print, to ensure that this will be the ‘MariCarmen decree’,” said Alicia del Río, another representative of the organisation.
For Social Rights Minister Pablo Bustinduy, the measures approved by the government represent “a first step towards the economic and social transformation of the country.”
The key question now is whether the Sánchez government will manage to secure the necessary parliamentary support for the new housing regulations to remain in force and become a permanent legislative framework.
