Spain’s Congress of Deputies voted down two emergency decrees proposed by the government to address the country’s severe housing affordability crisis on Friday, dealing a significant political setback to Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez.
The measures faced intense opposition from right-wing and separatist parties, who argued that the regulations would further constrict the rental market rather than alleviate it. The defeat comes against a backdrop of escalating public demonstrations across the nation, driven in large part by the high-profile eviction of an elderly woman earlier this month.
The rejected legislation included two main components. The first aimed to protect vulnerable tenants from eviction, curb real estate speculation, impose stricter controls on short-term rental leases, and offer tax incentives to promote long-term renting and housing construction. The second decree sought to make residential leases automatically renewable, effectively turning them into indefinite contracts. Under this proposal, landlords would have been required to pay tenants twelve months’ rent as compensation to terminate a lease.
The votes were blocked by a coalition of opponents including the center-right Popular Party, the far-right Vox, and Junts, a Catalan separatist party. Miriam Nogueras of Junts criticized the proposals, stating they would incentivize property owners to withdraw homes from the rental market, thereby driving prices higher. She also noted that the decrees still permitted speculators to purchase properties and evict residents.
In the lead-up to the vote, Sanchez appealed to lawmakers to prioritize public interest over political maneuvering. “Think about ordinary people, about those who most need the protection of public institutions,” Sanchez said. “Think about the millions of young people who cannot afford to move out of their parents’ homes… Do the right thing, because I believe that if you do not, history will judge you sooner than you think.”
The political struggle has been fueled by widespread outrage following the September 23 eviction of Maria del Carmen Abascal, an 87-year-old widow known as Maricarmen. Abascal had lived in her Madrid apartment since the 1950s under a rent-controlled contract originally signed by her father. After the property was purchased by real estate firm Urbagestion in 2018, the company increased her monthly rent from 500 euros to 2,650 euros—nearly double her 1,350-euro pension. Her televised removal sparked protests that led to a demonstration camp in Madrid’s Puerta del Sol square.
On Friday, hundreds of protesters gathered outside the parliamentary chamber, chanting slogans such as “your profits, our misery” and holding signs depicting vultures to symbolize real estate speculators. According to data from the real estate portal Idealista, average rents in Spain have nearly doubled over the past decade, with the price per square meter rising from 8.20 euros in 2016 to 15.1 euros currently.
Critics fear landlords will withdraw rentals, but what about the millions who cannot afford to leave their parents’ homes?
Rent doubling in a decade while pensions stagnate? This eviction crisis deserves urgent action, not just angry chants outside Congress.
The Maricarmen case is heartbreakingly brutal. This political failure shows how much longer before real change happens for vulnerable citizens.