Spain: Tens of Thousands March Over Housing Crisis After Parliament Rejects Tenant Decrees

Demonstrators filled the streets of Madrid and more than 50 other Spanish cities on Saturday, October 3, 2026, demanding stronger tenant protections and an end to evictions, one day after the Spanish Congress rejected two government decrees designed to shield renters from rising housing costs.

The Tenants' Union, which coordinated the nationwide mobilisation, said in a statement that "there is an irreparable disconnect between what the people want and what the parties vote for." The union is calling for a 50% cut in rents, open-ended rental contracts, and the expropriation of homes held by investment funds it describes as "vulture funds."

What triggered the protests

The immediate spark was the eviction of María del Carmen Abascal, 87, from her apartment in Madrid's Retiro neighbourhood on September 23, 2026. Her father had first rented the flat in 1956, and she had lived there for roughly seven decades under rent controls after her parents died.

When the building changed ownership in 2018, Abascal could not afford to buy her unit. The investment fund Urbagestión later purchased the apartment and raised her monthly rent from €500 to €2,650, later lowering it to €1,650 — still unaffordable on her pension, according to PBS NewsHour. Her forced removal from the flat drew national attention and led to tent encampments at Madrid's Puerta del Sol plaza in the days before Saturday's march.

Parliament's rejection of the housing decrees

On October 2, 2026, the Congress of Deputies rejected two emergency decrees put forward by Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez's coalition government. The first decree would have extended eviction protections through 2030, regulated seasonal rentals, barred certain investment funds from buying homes until 2028, and extended rental contracts set to expire before the end of 2028. The second decree would have made rental contracts renew automatically, in effect making many leases indefinite, according to Catalan News.

The decrees failed after the Catalan pro-independence party Junts voted alongside the conservative People's Party and the far-right Vox. Junts spokesperson Mònica Sales said it would be "incomprehensible and irresponsible" for the party to back decrees it considered flawed, arguing that doing so would amount to a political defeat for Catalonia, according to Catalan News.

Before the vote, Housing Minister Isabel Rodríguez framed the stakes bluntly, saying lawmakers were "deciding whether we do not want another eviction or are willing to face the next one," according to UPI.

Scale of Saturday's demonstrations

Crowd estimates for Madrid diverge sharply along familiar lines: the Tenants' Union put the number of marchers in the capital at around 500,000, while government authorities estimated roughly 70,000, according to Euronews. Similar demonstrations were reported in more than 50 cities across the country, including Barcelona and Valencia, according to Al Jazeera.

Al Jazeera reported that violence broke out in Valencia, where police used rubber bullets and tear gas; other cities' demonstrations were reported as largely peaceful. Protest signs read "Houses to live in, a planet to inhabit" and "the right to a roof," reflecting demands that go beyond rent regulation to include a general strike call.

Background: Spain's housing affordability gap

Spain faces a shortage of an estimated 550,000 homes, according to a Bank of Spain estimate cited by PBS NewsHour. Average rents have nearly doubled over the past decade, according to UPI, even as wage growth has not kept pace.

Spain also has one of the smallest social housing stocks in the developed world: subsidised public rental housing accounts for less than 2% of the total stock, compared with an EU average of around 8%, PBS NewsHour reported.

What happens next

The rejection of both decrees is a setback for Sánchez's minority coalition. The Tenants' Union has said it intends to keep pressing for a general strike over housing costs, according to Al Jazeera.