Spain's coalition government has proposed a sweeping housing package, including a ban on evictions until 2030 and automatic lease renewals, following intense nationwide protests. The demonstrations were triggered by the forceful eviction of 87-year-old pensioner Maricarmen Abascal in Madrid, who has since accepted a deal to return home. While ministers hail the measures as a major victory against speculation, the minority government faces a tough parliamentary vote on Friday to pass the decrees.
Proposed housing measures
- ▪The Spanish government's housing measures approved on September 29, 2026 will be split into two separate decrees, with the automatic contract rollover placed in the second decree
- ▪The Spanish government's housing measures proposed amid protests over Maricarmen Abascal's eviction include automatic renewal of tenant contracts, rolling over leases until 2028 to prevent abusive rent hikes
- ▪The Spanish coalition government approved a proposal on September 29, 2026, to ban evictions until 2030 as part of a package to address the country's housing crisis
- ▪The housing package Spain's government proposed on September 29, 2026 includes new regulations for seasonal rents, room rentals, and short-term tourist rentals
Government ministers' support for the measures
- ▪Spanish Justice Minister Félix Bolaños stated that the housing measures approved on September 29, 2026 represented a great day for tenants and small homeowners but a bad one for speculators
- ▪Spanish Housing Minister Isabel Rodriguez characterized the housing package approved by Spain's cabinet on September 29, 2026 as an agreement of huge social significance addressing the main problem of Spanish citizens
- ▪Spanish Health Minister Mónica García credited the Puerta del Sol protest encampments and mobilizations for making the government's housing measures, approved on September 29, 2026, possible
Measures targeting vulture funds
- ▪Spanish Housing Minister Isabel Rodriguez stated the government seeks to broaden the definition of speculative vulture funds to include any company buying housing for speculation
- ▪The Spanish government's housing proposals approved on September 29, 2026 include a ban on the purchase of residential housing by investment funds labeled as vulture funds
Junts' stance on housing measures
- ▪The Catalan pro-independence party Junts expressed opposition to lumping small landlords who invested their savings into properties together with large vulture funds
- ▪Junts parliamentary spokesperson Míriam Nogueras stated that evictions must be stopped when the property is owned by a vulture fund managing millions of euros
Eviction of Maricarmen Abascal
- ▪On September 28, 2026, Maricarmen Abascal accepted a preliminary agreement to return to her Madrid home by paying 30 percent of her pension, equivalent to about 500 euros a month
- ▪Maricarmen Abascal was evicted after her landlord, real estate firm Urbagestión, hiked her monthly rent by 275 percent to 2,650 euros ($3,000)
- ▪The eviction of 87-year-old pensioner Maricarmen Abascal on September 23, 2026, from her Madrid home of 70 years sparked national uproar and triggered widespread protests
Housing protest encampments
- ▪Housing protest encampments linked to the protests over Maricarmen Abascal's eviction emerged in southern Spanish cities including Seville and Malaga, alongside plans by tenants' unions for further nationwide demonstrations
- ▪Protesters demonstrating against Maricarmen Abascal's eviction set up around 100 tents in Madrid's Puerta del Sol square starting September 26, 2026, demanding rent freezes and legal reforms
Debatable claims
- ▪Street encampments are an appropriate way to influence national housing policy
- ▪Broadening the definition of speculative vulture funds goes too far
- ▪Spain's proposed ban on evictions until 2030 is justified
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