Pedro Sanchez Pledges Housing Reforms After Eviction Protests
Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez reached a coalition agreement to protect vulnerable tenants following nationwide protests sparked by the eviction of an 87-year-old woman in Madrid.
A severe housing shortage and soaring rents have triggered large-scale demonstrations across Spain, culminating in a coalition agreement to introduce legislation protecting vulnerable tenants from eviction. The unrest intensified after 87-year-old María del Carmen Abascal was removed from her Madrid home on a stretcher. While Ms. Abascal later reached a preliminary agreement with the real estate company Urbagestión to return to her home under an eight-year lease capped at 30 percent of her income, her case catalyzed national anger.
Pedro Sanchez pledged to provide a solution to the crisis following a cabinet meeting. Protesters, coordinated by Spain's Confederation of Tenants' Unions, have pitched tents in Madrid's Puerta del Sol square to demand a "MariCarmen decree" that would implement rent freezes and automatic contract renewals. Sanchez must now balance these demands with the interests of political allies like the Junts party, which opposes measures that penalize small landlords.
The crisis is driven by a deficit of approximately 750,000 to 755,000 homes, fueled by foreign investment and a surge in short-term tourist rentals. Data from the Bank of Spain and the Youth Council of Spain indicate that average rents now consume nearly 99% of the average monthly salary. While the government focuses on renter protections, economists maintain that a long-term solution requires the construction of hundreds of thousands of new homes in urban centers.
