Spain's housing crisis: Thousands protest as Parliament rejects emergency rent measures
Thousands of people took to the streets in cities across Spain on Saturday to demand stronger protections for tenants, a day after the country's Parliament rejected the government's emergency housing legislation.
About 50 marches were planned, including in Madrid, Valencia and Barcelona. In Valencia, where a demonstration was already under way, a spokesperson for the Valencia Tenants' Union said there was "a lot of anger in the streets". Clashes between some protesters and police were reported in the city.
The measures were put forward by Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez's coalition government on Friday. They followed public outrage over the eviction of an 87-year-old woman from her home last month, after she was unable to afford a sharp increase in her rent.
That eviction set off protests across the country. Demonstrators have called for lower rents, an end to evictions, and a ban on investment funds buying residential property. The government has described such funds as "vulture funds", a term it has used in arguing for tighter rules on large-scale property purchases.
Friday's vote in the Congress of Deputies, the lower house of Parliament, was a setback for the government. Sánchez's coalition, made up of his Socialist Party and the junior Sumar alliance, does not command a majority in the chamber, and the legislation did not secure the support needed to pass.
The defeat has heightened speculation that Sánchez could call an early general election. A general election was not otherwise due until next summer.
Housing has become one of the most politically charged issues in Spain. Rents in major cities including Madrid, Barcelona and Valencia have risen sharply in recent years, and many tenants, particularly younger people, spend a large share of their income on housing. The growth of short-term holiday rentals and large-scale purchases by investment funds have both featured prominently in the public debate over the shortage of affordable homes.
Responsibility for housing policy in Spain is shared between the central government and the country's regional administrations, a division that has complicated efforts to agree on nationwide rules. Tenant organisations say the failure of the legislation leaves renters without new safeguards, while the bill's opponents in Parliament have yet to put forward a common alternative.
Saturday's marches were the latest in a series of demonstrations held since the eviction last month drew national attention to the cost of renting. Organisers said further protests are planned in the coming weeks.
