Spain unveils housing curbs after Maricarmen eviction sparks protests
Spain's government on Tuesday unveiled a set of measures to tackle the country's housing crisis after days of protests in Madrid and other cities. The move came after the eviction of 87-year-old Mara del Carmen Abascal, known widely as "Maricarmen", drew national attention and became a rallying point for demonstrators demanding stronger tenant protections.
The coalition led by Prime Minister Pedro Snchez's Socialists announced the measures after four days of protests centred on an encampment at Madrid's Puerta del Sol. While the package includes extended protection against evictions, rental regulation and steps aimed at curbing speculation, it is still unclear whether the measures will satisfy protesters, who say they want to examine the details.
The protests have already brought a breakthrough for Abascal. Her lawyer, Beatriz Duro, said she had accepted an agreement with the company that owns her apartment in Madrid's Retiro neighbourhood and would be able to return home once she is discharged from hospital. Abascal has been in hospital since she was removed from the flat, where she had lived for seven decades. Under the agreement, her rent will be capped at 30 per cent of her income, meaning she will not pay more than the 500 euros per month she paid earlier.
Housing Minister Isabel Rodrguez said the government's main decree extends protection against evictions for vulnerable Spaniards until 2030, regulates room rentals, imposes a new tax on seasonal rentals and bans "speculative real estate purchases by vulture funds" until 2028. She also said the measures include tax breaks for landlords who rent to low-income tenants, interest-free loans for families buying their first home, and steps to protect and promote public housing. However, the full text of the decree has not yet been released, and details such as how such funds will be classified and the size of the new tax remain unclear.
Labour Minister Yolanda Daz linked the announcement directly to the demonstrations. "This has been thanks to the citizen movement. To Maricarmen. To the thousands of people in the streets," she wrote on social media. The protests have been driven by rising costs and a housing shortage that are pushing many Spaniards out of the housing market despite strong economic growth in Europe's fourth-largest economy. Demonstrators have been demanding stronger protections for tenants, measures against fraud and a ban on evictions when no alternative housing is available.
Parliament has 30 days to ratify the measures, and the government has called an extraordinary plenary session on housing for Friday to speed up the process. The ruling coalition holds 152 of the chamber's 350 seats and will need backing from smaller parties across the political spectrum. Similar measures failed to win enough support in late July.
The Madrid Tenants' Union, which organised the protest, said it would remain cautious until it could review "the fine print" of the decree. "The streets, this encampment and all the others currently across the country are engaging in a historic standoff with the government to push it to advance the right to housing through measures that had not been considered. And this continues," said the union's spokesperson Alicia del Ro. Activists, who are planning more protests for the weekend, were due to decide later on Tuesday whether to dismantle the encampment. The regional government, led by the conservative People's Party, has asked the government delegate to clear the square within 48 hours before going to court, though the protests have remained peaceful.
Smaller encampments have emerged in other cities including Seville, Mlaga, Santiago de Compostela and Palma de Mallorca, bringing wider attention to a long-running issue. Asked about the case on Monday, Pope Leo XIV said it showed the need for political leaders to find solutions to the housing crisis affecting many communities. "Maybe we have to insist that political leaders, authorities find a solution to this, because it's obviously increasing and oftentimes we only react in the moment of an emergency," he said, after saying he was not familiar with the case. "But we have to try to see what the systemic cause of the problem is and how to help."
Spain has had a housing law since 2023 that regulates rents, protects tenants and allows rent caps in high-demand areas at the request of local governments. Spanish media reported that Abascal's father first rented the apartment in 1956 and that she remained the tenant after her parents died, during a period when rents were capped. According to the Madrid Tenants' Union, the building changed hands in 2018 and Abascal was offered the chance to buy the apartment but could not afford it. The union said an investment fund, Urbagestión, later raised her monthly rent from 500 euros to 2,650 euros, before reducing it to 1,650 euros, which she still could not pay on her pension. The company did not respond to requests for comment. The government's measures and Abascal's case have together turned Spain's housing debate into a major political test in the days ahead.
