‘This can’t go on’: tens of thousands protest against Spain’s housing crisis

Tens of thousands of people have taken to the streets across Spain demanding urgent action over soaring rents, evictions and the growing difficulty of finding affordable housing. The demonstrations come after parliament rejected emergency measures intended to strengthen protection for tenants.

Thousands fill the streets of Madrid
Around 70,000 people joined the demonstration in Madrid according to authorities, while organisers claimed a significantly higher turnout. Similar protests were organised in dozens of cities across Spain.

Demonstrators carried banners demanding lower rents, stronger protection against eviction and greater government intervention in the housing market. Some protesters also called for a general strike.

The demonstrations reflect growing frustration over housing costs, particularly among younger Spaniards. Average rents have doubled over the past decade and reached €1,176 per month, according to figures cited by Reuters – equivalent to almost the entire average salary of a young person.

Eviction became a symbol of the crisis
Public anger intensified after 87-year-old Maricarmen Abascal was evicted from the Madrid home where she had lived for around 70 years.

Abascal said she could not afford a 230% rent increase demanded after an investment fund acquired the apartment. Her case quickly became a symbol of wider concerns about housing affordability and tenant security.

Protest camps subsequently appeared in Madrid and other cities, adding momentum to a housing movement that had already been growing across Spain.

Emergency measures rejected
Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez’s government proposed measures including protection for vulnerable tenants from eviction until 2030, an extension of rent freezes and tighter regulation of temporary and short-term rentals.

The proposals were rejected in parliament after the conservative People’s Party and Catalan Junts, among others, voted against them. Opponents argue that stronger regulation could reduce the supply of rental properties and that Spain instead needs to build substantially more homes.

Housing moves to the centre of Spanish politics
The demonstrations were largely peaceful, although clashes were reported in Valencia, where police used rubber bullets and tear gas.

For Spain, the dispute now extends far beyond the price of individual apartments. Housing affordability has become a major economic and political issue, particularly for a generation struggling to establish independent lives while rents consume an increasingly large share of income.

The message from Saturday’s demonstrations was clear: for tens of thousands of Spaniards, the present housing situation has reached a breaking point.