Tens of thousands march across Spain over housing as decree laws fail in parliament

Street mobilisations across Spanish cities

On Saturday, 3 October 2026, demonstrators gathered across 54 Spanish cities to protest rising housing costs and demand stronger tenant protections. In Madrid, marches departing from Atocha, Plaza de España, and Hospital La Princesa converged at Plaza de Cibeles. The Tenants Union estimated Madrid turnout at over 500,000 participants jingling keys, while the central government delegation reported 70,000. Union spokesperson Valeria Racu addressed the crowd to push for a national general strike.

There is no going back.

In Valencia, approximately thirty demonstrators breached security at the Palau de les Arts during a real estate convention, leading to clashes where police used tear gas and rubber bullets, leaving nine officers injured and five people arrested. Madrid police also fired rubber bullets at Plaza de Cibeles to disperse far-right Núcleo Nacional members attempting to reach Puerta del Sol.

Parliamentary defeat of emergency decrees

The demonstrations followed the rejection of two housing decree laws in the Congress of Deputies on Friday, 2 October 2026. Promulgated on 29 September by Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, the measures aimed to extend anti-eviction protections for vulnerable households and mandate lease renewals. The first decree was defeated by 178 votes to 172, while the second failed by 184 votes to 166 after the Catalan pro-independence party Junts voted with right-wing parties.

Sánchez opened a period of reflection over the weekend on whether to dissolve parliament ahead of the scheduled 2027 election date. Opposition leader Alberto Núñez Feijóo of the Partido Popular called for immediate snap elections, stating that emergency measures could not mask eight years of housing mismanagement.

The eviction of Maricarmen Abascal

Public anger intensified following the 23 September 2026 eviction of 87-year-old María del Carmen Abascal from her Retiro apartment in Madrid, where she had lived since 1956. Property firm Urbagestión had purchased the building in 2018 and sought to increase her monthly rent from approximately 500 euros to 2,650 euros against her 1,300 euro pension. Despite an intervention from the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, police removed Abascal on a stretcher to Gregorio Marañón Hospital.

The incident generated the nationwide protest slogan "Ni una Maricarmen más" and immediate marches in Madrid, although Abascal later reached an agreement with the owner to return home.

Rising rents and structural shortages

Housing affordability pressures have expanded across Spain, where a 2024 FOESSA report showed that one in four families faced difficulty securing or keeping a home. National Statistics Institute data from April indicated that 47.3% of Spaniards aged 26 to 34 live with their parents due to elevated housing expenses. In Madrid, rents have nearly doubled since 2015 while wages grew by 30%. Carme Trilla, president of the non-profit foundation Hàbitat3, linked the shortage to the aftermath of the 1997 to 2008 construction boom that produced five million dwellings.

The turnaround occurred precisely because the construction excess recorded between 1997 and 2007 left the impression that too much had been built.

Organisers are now weighing a nationwide general strike to demand statutory rent controls and bans on speculative evictions.