Spain’s Socialist-led coalition government has approved a package of housing measures aimed at easing the country’s housing crisis, including extending protections against evictions of vulnerable tenants until 2030, following widespread protests over the eviction of an 87-year-old disabled woman in Madrid.
The measures, approved by the cabinet on Tuesday, September 29, seek to strengthen tenant protections, regulate short-term rentals and restrict property purchases by investment funds. However, the proposals still require parliamentary approval, with the minority government facing considerable challenges in securing sufficient support.
The government has requested an extraordinary parliamentary session on Friday to accelerate the approval process, amid growing public pressure for action to address rising housing costs and insecurity among tenants.
The main decree includes extending restrictions on evictions of vulnerable tenants until 2030, regulating temporary rentals and room-by-room lettings, and prohibiting so-called vulture funds from purchasing residential properties until 2028. It also provides for a two-year extension of existing rental agreements due to expire by the end of 2028.
A separate decree proposes the automatic renewal of rental contracts, a measure that has been a central demand of tenants’ organisations seeking greater protection against steep rent increases and displacement.
Health Minister Mónica García welcomed the cabinet’s decision, describing it as a significant development in the government’s efforts to address housing affordability. “We’ve achieved something that even a month ago was unthinkable,” García said.
She added that the measures represented an opportunity to challenge speculative practices in the housing market and strengthen protections for tenants. “It’s time to intervene in the speculative housing market and begin to restore the balance between citizens and vulture funds,” she said.
The government’s announcement follows growing public anger over the eviction of Maricarmen Abascal, an 87-year-old disabled woman who was removed from her Madrid apartment on a stretcher last Wednesday.
Her eviction triggered protests in the Spanish capital, with hundreds of demonstrators continuing to occupy the central Puerta del Sol square on Tuesday, demanding stronger legal protections for tenants.
Protesters have called for a rent freeze, automatic renewal of rental agreements and measures to prevent what they consider abusive rent increases. The demonstrations have also intensified pressure on the government to introduce reforms that address the broader housing crisis.
The Tenants’ Union, which has played a leading role in organising the protests, said it would examine the details of the newly approved decrees before deciding its position. However, the organisation criticised the government’s decision to divide the proposed reforms into separate legislative measures.
Alicia Del Río, a Spokesperson for the union in Madrid, argued that splitting the proposals risked weakening the protections sought by tenants. “It’s a tactic of tearing something into shreds so that all that’s left are scraps,” she said.
Del Río called on the government to adopt the union’s proposed reforms in their entirety, insisting that the authorities should respond to the demands raised by protesters.
Maricarmen Abascal, whose eviction from her Madrid apartment triggered widespread protests and renewed pressure for housing reforms, accepted an offer from property management company Urbagestión to return to her home at a reduced rent today.
Under the agreement, the 87-year-old disabled woman will pay €533 a month, an amount that will not exceed 30 per cent of her income. The offer represents a substantial reduction from the €1,650 monthly rent initially demanded, which preceded her eviction last Wednesday.
Although the agreement allows her to return, the Tenants’ Union has maintained its calls for broader legal reforms, arguing that individual settlements cannot resolve the wider housing crisis. The case has become a focal point in Spain’s debate over rental affordability and tenant rights, prompting the government to accelerate its proposed housing legislation.
Measures Face Resistance
The legislative proposals have also encountered resistance from some political parties whose support will be necessary for their passage through Congress.
The Catalan pro-independence party Junts, whose votes could prove decisive, said it remained far from reaching an agreement with the government. The party has called for stronger protections for small landlords, arguing that the proposed restrictions fail to distinguish between individual property owners and large investment companies.
Míriam Nogueras, Junts’ spokesperson in Congress, said that the government needed to recognise the differences between small-scale landlords and large property investors. “Owning two properties isn’t the same as owning entire buildings,” she said, adding that the proposals failed to make that distinction.
The government has 30 days from the publication of the decrees to secure the necessary parliamentary support. Although the first decree is believed to have the backing of conservative Catalan and Basque parties that previously opposed housing reforms, the separate proposal on automatic rental renewals faces greater uncertainty.
Meanwhile, opposition leader Alberto Núñez Feijóo of the conservative People’s Party dismissed the government’s proposals, questioning its handling of the housing crisis.
He argued that the government had contributed to the problem and could not resolve years of accumulated housing difficulties through hurried legislative measures.
The disagreement over the reforms highlights the political divisions surrounding Spain’s housing policies, with the government facing competing demands from tenants’ organisations, property owners and parliamentary allies.
As the proposed measures await congressional approval, the government faces mounting pressure to demonstrate that its reforms can provide meaningful relief to tenants while securing sufficient political support to implement them.
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