Tens of thousands protest across Spain after parliament rejects emergency housing decrees

Parliamentary defeat and political fallout

On Friday, Spain's Congress of Deputies rejected two emergency decrees aimed at regulating the rental market, weakening Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez's minority coalition. The first decree included a moratorium on evicting vulnerable tenants until 2030, a two-year extension on leases expiring before 2028, higher taxes on tourist apartments, and restrictions on purchases by investment funds. Lawmakers rejected that measure by 178 votes to 172. A second decree proposing mandatory automatic lease renewals failed by 184 votes to 166. Conservative People's Party (PP) and far-right Vox deputies voted against both measures alongside the pro-independence Together for Catalonia (JxCat), whose seven lawmakers withheld support. Housing Minister Isabel Rodríguez urged parliament to side with citizens over speculative investment funds, while PP leader Alberto Núñez Feijóo called on Sánchez to call snap general elections ahead of the scheduled 2027 date.

Demonstrations and clashes across cities

Following the vote, tens of thousands of demonstrators joined approximately 50 rallies across Spain on Saturday, 3 October 2026. In Madrid, four protest marches converged at Plaza de Cibeles while demonstrators maintained an eight-day encampment in Puerta del Sol. Organizers from the Madrid Tenants' Union estimated turnout at 500,000, while the central government delegation placed the figure at 70,000. In the capital, police arrested three members of the far-right group Núcleo Nacional after masked counter-protesters attempted to enter Puerta del Sol and provoke unrest. In Valencia, demonstrations near the Palau de les Arts Reina Sofía arts center, which was hosting a real estate summit, resulted in clashes. Protesters removed barricades and threw projectiles, prompting police to fire rubber bullets. Local authorities reported nine police injuries and five arrests. Meanwhile, severe weather forced organizers to cancel a planned march in Barcelona.

Escalating market pressures and eviction trigger

Public unrest accelerated after the 23 September 2026 eviction of 87-year-old Maricarmen Abascal, who was removed on a stretcher from a Madrid apartment where she had lived for seven decades after rent increases became unaffordable. Although property owner Urbagestión agreed to allow Abascal to return under a reduced rent following public backlash, street mobilizations continued to expand. Data from the National Statistics Institute (INE) shows that housing prices rose 12.2% in the second quarter of 2026 compared to the prior year. Real estate portal Idealista reported an 8.5% national increase in rental prices during 2025, driven by supply shortages, with Madrid registering a 9.7% jump. The Bank of Spain calculates an overall housing deficit of 700,000 units across the country.

What the streets are giving off is a new energy, an energy that shows that eight days of popular power can achieve much more than eight years of progressive government.

Union mobilization and rent regulation demands

Tenants' unions across Spain have now called for a general strike over the housing crisis, demanding strict rent controls and an outright ban on corporate housing purchases. Demonstrators held placards demanding an end to landlord profiteering, shaking keys and chanting that they hold the keys to the city. Protesters emphasized the widening gap between wages and rental costs in urban centers. Marcos Sainz, a 26-year-old librarian who moved into a €1,000 monthly apartment, stated to reporters that he would continue demonstrating until authorities regulate the entire market. The Tenants' Union confirmed it will coordinate further collective actions across regional hubs in the coming weeks.