Mass Demonstrations Erupt Across Spain as Housing Legislation Fails in Congress
Thousands of Spaniards flooded the streets of major cities on Saturday in a sweeping display of frustration over the nation’s escalating housing crisis, following the collapse of emergency housing legislation in Congress just a day earlier.
Approximately 50 separate marches unfolded in cities including Madrid, Valencia, and Barcelona, with protesters demanding stronger protections for renters. The demonstrations were sparked by widespread outrage over the eviction of an 87-year-old woman from her home last month after she could no longer afford a steep rent increase.
“There is a lot of anger in the streets,” said a representative of the Valencia Tenants’ Union. In that city, tensions boiled over as some demonstrators clashed with police near the Palau de les Arts Reina Sofía, where a real estate summit was taking place. According to Spanish media reports, protesters pushed past barriers and threw objects at officers, who fired rubber bullets in response. Public broadcaster RTVE reported that nine officers sustained injuries and five individuals were taken into custody.
In the capital, Madrid, the scale of the demonstration drew conflicting estimates. The city’s Tenants’ Union claimed 500,000 participants, while official figures placed the number at 70,000. Marchers carried placards with slogans such as “There won’t be peace for rentism” and “I study to have a future, not to have a tiny apartment.” Many shook keys in the air, chanting, “We have the keys of all the city.” Some had been camping in Puerta del Sol, one of Madrid’s central squares, for several days.
“We’re not here for pleasure or comfort. We’re here out of conviction,” one protester named David told RTVE.
Marcos Sainz, a 26-year-old librarian, described the stark reality facing renters. He told AFP that he once shared a two-bedroom apartment with friends for €900 (£766) per month. Now, he said, a one-bedroom flat frequently costs €1,000. Sainz vowed to keep protesting “until someone dares to regulate it all,” warning that otherwise “we’ll all have to leave Madrid.”
Spanish police also arrested three members of a far-right group who attempted to reach demonstrators in the square, some of whom had performed Nazi salutes.
The protests followed Friday’s congressional rejection of two decrees forming the government’s emergency housing package. The first decree sought to suspend evictions of vulnerable tenants until 2030, extend rental leases expiring before 2028 by two years, raise taxes on tourist apartments, and restrict purchases of residential properties by so-called “vulture funds.” The second decree would have introduced automatic renewal of rental contracts, a key demand of left-wing parties and the Tenants’ Union.
Lawmakers rejected the first measure by a vote of 178 to 172 and the second by 184 to 166. The conservative People’s Party and the far-right Vox had already declared their opposition, leaving the minority government reliant on smaller nationalist parties from Catalonia and the Basque Country. However, the centre-right, pro-independence Together for Catalonia party signalled its opposition on the eve of the session, effectively dooming both laws.
The defeat in Congress has intensified speculation that Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez may call an early general election, which was not otherwise due until next summer. His coalition, comprising his ruling Socialist party and the junior Sumar alliance does not hold a parliamentary majority.
Sánchez’s government had hastily drafted the decrees in an effort to quell public anger that erupted after 87-year-old Maricarmen Abascal was evicted in September. The backlash prompted Urbagestión, the company owning her flat, to negotiate her return on a reduced rent. Nevertheless, protests have persisted.
On Friday night, Madrid’s Tenants’ Union stated that while the government’s proposed measures were inadequate, their rejection “exacerbates the housing crisis which is costing the working class their lives.” The organization is now calling for a general strike over housing.
Spain’s housing shortage is stark. The Bank of Spain estimates the country needs 700,000 additional homes to bridge the gap between demand and new construction. According to the national statistics institute INE, house prices rose 12.2% in the past year.
Rental costs climbed 8.5% in 2025, with Madrid alone seeing a 9.7% increase, according to real estate firm Idealista. Barcelona and Madrid rank as Spain’s most expensive cities for renters, at €23.80 and €22.70 per square metre respectively.
