Massive protests in Madrid to demand protection for tenants and a solution to the housing crisis

Tens of thousands of people took to the streets in Madrid to protest the housing crisis in Spain and demand protection measures for renters, anti-fraud rules, and a ban on evictions without providing alternative housing.

The protest came in response to the dramatic eviction last Wednesday of an 87-year-old woman from the apartment in Madrid where she had lived for decades. It replayed scenes of Maricarmen Abascal's evacuation when she was taken out of her home on a stretcher in the upscale Retiro neighborhood after the police broke down her door, to highlight the housing crisis in Spain, ahead of the general elections scheduled for 2027.

Maria del Carmen Abascal was warmly received by demonstrators and supporters as she was loaded into an ambulance. As they marched through central Madrid, protesters banged keys, blew whistles, chanted slogans and carried banners demanding measures to reduce rising housing costs and tighten eviction procedures. "You could be the next Maricarmen," one sign read.

Demonstrator Dora Garcia, a 55-year-old nurse, said: “We are here because housing is a problem that affects the entire society, all ages and classes. We cannot continue to tolerate this situation. Housing is a right and we do not have it.” In turn, Enrique Ortega de Miguel, a 38-year-old graphic designer who lives with his mother, pointed out that “finding affordable housing is a struggle, and then you live in fear of being forced to leave.”

Record rises in rents fuel the housing crisis

Spanish media reported that Abascal's father rented the property for the first time in 1956, and she continued as a tenant after the death of her parents, during which rents were subject to a price cap system. Ownership of the building changed in 2018, and Abascal was offered the chance to buy the apartment but was unable to afford it, according to the Madrid Tenants Union, which organized Saturday's protest.

Orbachestion, an investment fund that later bought the apartment, raised its monthly rent from 500 euros to 2,650 euros. The company later reduced the rent to 1,650 euros, which Abascal also could not afford from her pension, according to the union.

Three previous attempts to expel her were blocked by courts. Extensive media coverage turned Abascal into a symbol of the housing crisis in Spain. The Bank of Spain estimated that the country faced a shortage of about 550,000 homes last year, with Madrid, Barcelona and Valencia accounting for a large share of this shortage.

Demands to protect tenants

Government authorities estimated the number of participants at about 25,000, while protest organizers said that 300,000 people participated. Abascal, who has become a symbol of the housing crisis, urged Spaniards to join the protests, in a video message posted online hours before the demonstration. “I want what happened to me to be an example to prevent the same from happening again with other people,” she said from the hospital, where she is receiving treatment for fatigue since she was evicted from her residence.

After the conclusion of the protest march, some protesters set up a sit-in camp in the Plaza del Sol square in the city center, according to a statement issued by the union, which urged people to gather there. A post on the X platform said, “We can no longer tolerate the situation. Either the rental system falls or the government falls.” About a dozen tents were set up in plain sight of police officers in the square in front of the headquarters of the Madrid regional government, amid crowds of thousands of demonstrators, according to an Agence France-Presse correspondent at the site.

Political pressure on Sanchez

Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, who pledged last year to make housing a priority, is facing increasing pressure to act in light of the ongoing protests since Abascal's expulsion. His government is expected to approve a package of measures, dubbed the “Maricarmen Law,” during the next cabinet meeting, which includes automatic renewal of lease contracts and imposing additional restrictions on evictions.