Thousands of protesters don waka enter streets across Spain to demand better protection for tenants. Dem do am after goment fail to push emergency housing legislation through parliament on Friday.
About 50 marches dey planned for Saturday. Cities like Madrid, Valencia and Barcelona dey among di places. One spokesperson for Valencia Tenants’ Union tok say anger dey plenty for streets. Demonstration don already start for Valencia. Clashes bin happen between some protesters and police for di city.
Di measures wey Pedro Sánchez leftist coalition goment put forward on Friday come after public outcry over eviction of one 87-year-old woman from her home last month. She no fit afford sharp rent increase. Her eviction trigger nationwide protests across Spain. Protesters demand lower rents, end to evictions, and ban on investment funds, or ‘vulture funds’ as goment call dem, from buying property.
Sanchez defeat for Congress on Friday make people dey speculate say he fit call early general election. Election no suppose happen until next summer. His coalition goment, wey join his ruling Socialist party and junior partner Sumar alliance, no get majority for parliament.
Photographs show protesters for east coast city of Valencia clashing with police officers on Saturday near arts centre Palau de les Arts Reina Sofía. Di place dey host real estate summit. Several protesters remove barriers and throw objects at officers. Officers respond with rubber bullets, Spanish media report. Public broadcaster RTVE tok say nine police officers injure and five people arrest.
One of di biggest demonstration dey happen for capital, Madrid. Estimates of number of participants vary well well. Madrid Tenants’ Union put am at 500,000. Government officials put di figure at 70,000. Demonstrators don camp for one of di city main squares, Puerta del Sol, for days.
One protester, David, tell RTVE before di protest say: ‘We no dey here for pleasure or comfort. We dey here out of conviction.’ Another protester, 26-year-old librarian Marcos Sainz, tell AFP news agency say he used to share two-bedroom flat with friends, paying 900 euros, £766, a month in rent. Today, he say one-bedroom flat often cost 1,000 euros. Sainz say he go protest against rent rises ‘until someone dares to regulate it all’, or ‘we go all have to leave Madrid’.
On Friday night, Madrid Tenants’ Union tok say although goment proposed measures no reach, di rejection of di proposed legislation ‘exacerbates di housing crisis which is costing di working class their lives’. Di union dey call for general strike over housing crisis.
Di legislation wey dem put before Congress on Friday divide into two separate decrees. First decree include suspension of evictions of vulnerable tenants until 2030, two-year extension to rental leases due to expire before 2028, tax increases for tourist apartments, and restriction on purchase of residential properties by so-called ‘vulture funds’. Second decree include automatic renewal of rental contracts, one major demand of many on di left and di Tenants’ Union.
MPs reject first decree by 178 votes to 172. Dem vote against second by 184 to 166. Before di vote, conservative People’s Party, PP, and far-right Vox don already tok say dem go vote against both initiatives. Dat leave di minority goment depending on support of smaller nationalist parties for Catalonia and Basque Country. But by di eve of parliamentary session, centre-right, pro-independence Together for Catalonia, JxCat, don signal opposition to both laws, condemning dem to failure.
Sánchez ruling coalition hurriedly draw up di decree laws to try defuse housing protests wey start when 87-year-old Maricarmen Abascal get evicted in September. Di social backlash lead to company wey own Abascal flat, Urbagestión, negotiating her return to di flat on low rent. But protests continue.
Bank of Spain estimate say di country short of 700,000 homes, based on gap between demand and new construction. House prices rise by 12.2% in past year, according to figures for second quarter of 2026 from national statistics institute INE. Di shortage in rental housing mean costs rose by 8.5% in 2025, according to real estate firm Idealista. Madrid alone see increase of 9.7% in rents. Idealista tok say Barcelona and Madrid na Spain most expensive cities to rent home, at €23.80 per square metre and €22.70 per square metre respectively.
María del Carmen Abascal, 87, was evicted from her home, on a stretcher, after being given 30 minutes to gather her belongings.
