Spain's left-wing minority government has slipped into a serious crisis because of the housing shortage in the country. Two decrees with which the government wanted to take action against rising rents and evictions failed in parliament due to resistance from conservative and right-wing populist MPs. The conservative People's Party PP, the right-wing populist Vox and the conservative Catalan separatist party Junts as well as two other MPs voted no in a roll-call vote. The first decree was rejected with 178 no votes from a total of 350 parliamentarians, while 184 deputies voted against the second decree. The government of Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has hardly been able to get any initiatives through parliament since its junts with seven MPs broke off their allegiance almost a year ago.
Prime Minister Sánchez himself intervened in the debate in parliament and called on MPs to vote for the decrees in order to prevent damage to society. Housing Minister Isabel Rodríguez (PSOE) defended the measures in parliament. The vote is about whether you are on the side of the people or on the side of the “vulture funds” that speculate in housing, she said. “It is the moment of truth,” she repeated a statement from Sánchez that had fueled speculation about early elections. The next elections would be normal next summer.
On Tuesday, after the sensational eviction of an 87-year-old and massive protests, the government decided on an extensive package of measures to combat the housing shortage. Among other things, the plan included an extension of protection against evictions, stricter regulation of rental agreements and a ban on the purchase of apartments by “vulture funds” until 2028, as well as tax breaks for tenants and landlords. In addition, a second decree provided for a two-year extension of existing rental agreements, which expire at the end of 2028.
The crisis in Spain's housing market has several reasons. The population has increased by three million inhabitants since 2015, an increase of seven percent, according to figures from the national statistics office Ine. In addition, the number of tourists is increasing sharply; the number of overnight stays in holiday apartments has doubled since 2018, as the newspaper “El País” reported.
In holiday regions such as the Balearic Islands with Mallorca, Alicante, Málaga or the Canary Islands, many foreign buyers are competing with locals and driving up property prices. At the same time, too few new apartments are being built. Spain's central bank expects the housing deficit to rise to one million units by 2028 if nothing changes.
Opposition spokesmen accused the government of saying the proposed measures would reduce the supply of housing and drive up rents even further. Míriam Nogueras from Junts called on the government to withdraw its two decrees and instead offered talks on changes. The government had hoped until the end that Junts would at least agree to the first decree.
With the two decrees, the government responded to the discontent of many citizens who cannot find affordable housing or who are under pressure due to rising rents and the threat of evictions. This dissatisfaction turned into nationwide demonstrations when 87-year-old Mariacarmen Abascal was forcibly taken from her home by police officers after 70 years on Wednesday last week.
The outrage following the forced eviction of the elderly woman was huge: in Madrid and other cities, tens of thousands took to the streets under the motto “Ni una Maricarmen más” (“Not another Maricarmen”). In the capital, a protest camp with dozens of tents was set up in front of the headquarters of the conservative regional government in the Puerta del Sol square. Similar camps were also set up in Barcelona, Seville and Málaga.
