Spain | Spanish government approves package of measures for tenants

Demonstrators tear down security barriers in Barcelona during a protest against evictions and the housing crisis ahead of the arrival of the Spanish Prime Minister. Photo: AFP/Josep Lago Madrid. After days of protests against high rents and the housing shortage, the Spanish government passed a legislative package on Tuesday that provides for the extension of fixed-term rental contracts and a moratorium on evictions. However, it is unclear whether the package of measures will get through parliament. The protests were sparked by the forced eviction from the apartment of 87-year-old Maricarmen Abascal in Madrid. According to her lawyer, the pensioner can return to her old apartment.

After tough negotiations, the left-wing government coalition has approved a legislative package that includes a stop to evictions for vulnerable people by 2030 and the extension of temporary rental contracts, said Spanish Health Minister Mónica García Gómez on Tuesday in the online service X. In addition, it should no longer be possible for speculative investment funds to buy apartments. The rental of living space to tourists should be severely restricted.

Just a month ago, what has now been decided was “unimaginable,” the minister added. She thanked the demonstrators who made the new measures possible through their protests: "Without you, this wouldn't have worked." Justice Minister Félix Bolaños told X that the day was "a bad day for speculators."

The measures are part of two government bills that still need to be passed in parliament, where the coalition does not have a majority. A similar legislative package, which, among other things, provided for a rent cap, failed at the beginning of the year due to rejection by the conservative opposition.

Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez hopes that he can overcome the parliamentary hurdles in the face of the protests. However, he cannot rely on the support of the opposition conservative People's Party PP and the ultra-right party Vox. According to media reports, the legislative packages could be discussed in parliament on Friday.

There are also different opinions on the measures among the Socialists and their left-wing coalition partner Sumar. Just a few weeks ago, the Socialists in Parliament abstained from a vote on a Sumar law proposal that would ban investment funds from buying apartments. The Catalan regional party Junts, in turn, warns against criminalizing private property owners.

87-year-old Maricarmen Abascal was taken on a stretcher from her evicted apartment in Madrid on Wednesday last week after an investor increased the rental price by 275 percent to 2,650 euros, according to the tenants' association. She had lived in the apartment for 70 years. The case sparked massive protests in Spain.

On Monday evening, her lawyer Beatriz Duro said she had reached an agreement with the owners of the property for the pensioner to return to her old apartment. The rent will be “similar to what she has paid so far,” Duro continued. Abascal could return to her apartment in the Retiro district of Madrid as soon as she leaves the hospital where she has been treated for exhaustion since the eviction. However, she still has to sign the contract.

The pensioner's fate led to nationwide protests. On Tuesday, numerous protesters were still holding out in Madrid's central Puerta del Sol square. The regional government therefore threatened to evacuate the tent camp. Further protest camps have now been set up in Málaga and Seville.

It is unlikely that the protests will subside in view of the government's package of measures. The Spanish tenants' association welcomed the agreement. Activist Valeria Racu said she was calling for nationwide protests over the weekend. "It's just getting started," she said.

According to surveys, drastically increased rents and a lack of living space have been the number one problem for Spaniards in the country for some time. According to the real estate portal “Idealista,” average rents in Spain have almost doubled in ten years. The Spanish central bank estimates that there is a shortage of more than 700,000 homes across the country. AFP/nd

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