{"id":6652,"date":"2026-10-02T15:54:08","date_gmt":"2026-10-02T15:54:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/?p=6652"},"modified":"2026-10-02T15:54:08","modified_gmt":"2026-10-02T15:54:08","slug":"spains-parliament-rejects-govt-housing-decrees-amid-mass-protests-housing-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/?p=6652","title":{"rendered":"Spain\u2019s parliament rejects gov\u2019t housing decrees amid mass protests | Housing News"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Both decrees to tackle housing affordability crisis shot down as critics say measures would tighten the housing market.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Spain\u2019s government has lost key votes to ratify emergency measures<\/a>\u00a0aimed at tackling the nation\u2019s housing affordability crisis, after protests intensified last month following the eviction of an 87-year-old woman<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The proposed measures, which comprised two separate decrees, were both shot down by the majority of \u2060the 350-seat lower house of parliament on Friday.<\/p>\n

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The move is a heavy blow to Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, whose government faces public pressure, including from the hundreds of protesters who had gathered outside parliament demanding help for renters.<\/p>\n

The first decree was meant to stop evictions of vulnerable people, make real estate speculation harder, impose tighter restrictions on short-term leases and provide tax incentives to encourage renting and the construction of housing.<\/p>\n

The second decree proposed making leases automatically renew when they are set to expire, essentially making them indefinite. A property owner would have to pay a tenant 12 months of rent to break the contract.<\/p>\n

The right-wing \u2060Catalan separatist \u2060party Junts refused to back the housing decrees, saying they would ultimately tighten the housing market. The centre-right Popular Party and far-right Vox also voted against the measures.<\/p>\n

Sanchez, who leads a coalition government composed of his Socialist Party and the far-left Sumar, \u2060appealed to lawmakers in the run-up to the vote to put aside political calculations and pressure.<\/p>\n

\u201cThink about ordinary people, about those who most need the protection of public institutions. Think about the millions of young people who \u2060cannot afford to \u2060move out of their parents\u2019 homes. Think about the families living with the constant \u2060anxiety of ever-rising rents,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cDo the right \u2060thing, because I \u2060believe that if you do not, history will judge you sooner than you \u200cthink, and far more harshly than you can imagine.\u201d<\/p>\n

Miriam Nogueras of Junts argued the decrees would only lead to owners removing their properties from the rental market, and thus driving up prices even further.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese decrees still allow speculators to buy property and to evict people,\u201d Nogueras said.<\/p>\n

\u2018Your profits, our misery\u2019<\/h2>\n

As the vote was under way, protesters marched on the parliament demanding help for renters.<\/p>\n

The government decrees were intended to quell a public uproar following the televised eviction on September 23 of Maria del Carmen Abascal, known across Spain as Maricarmen, that set off protests<\/a> and a camp-in that occupied Madrid\u2019s Puerta del Sol square ever since.<\/p>\n

Abascal was living in the property in Madrid\u2019s central Retiro neighbourhood under a rent-capped lease contract signed by her father in the 1950s. The property was then bought by the real estate and investment firm Urbagestion in 2018.<\/p>\n

Urbagestion sought to terminate Abascal\u2019s contract and evict her after raising her rent from 500 euros ($572) to 2,650 euros ($3,010) \u2013 nearly double her pension of 1,350 euros ($1,533) a month \u2013 according to Spanish newspaper El Pais.<\/p>\n

When the police\u00a0carried out her eviction on their fourth attempt, hundreds of activists who had been protesting against her losing a home she had lived in her entire life were waiting outside. Abascal has since been offered a preliminary agreement that would allow her return to her home.<\/p>\n

Protesters rallying at the chamber in downtown Madrid on Friday held up homemade signs with images of vultures on them, denouncing the real estate speculators they blame for driving up prices.<\/p>\n

Some people gathered outside the assembly chanted \u201cyour profits, our misery\u201d as lawmakers voted down the government\u2019s decree.<\/p>\n

The average rent in Spain has almost doubled in the past 10 years. The average price per square metre has risen from 8.20 euros (about $9.08 at the time) in 2016 to 15.1 euros ($17.15) this year, according to the real estate website Idealista.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n


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Both decrees to tackle housing affordability crisis shot down as critics say measures would tighten the housing market. Spain\u2019s government has lost key votes to ratify emergency measures\u00a0aimed at tackling the nation\u2019s housing affordability crisis, after protests intensified last month following the eviction of an 87-year-old woman. The proposed measures, which comprised two separate decrees,…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6653,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":{"facebook_2277560469115098_106292521332774":"","twitter_aToxNzczMzI3Njk4OTg4ODUxMjAxOw==_1773327698988851200":""},"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_templately_pack_id":"","_templately_imported_at":"","_templately_source":"","_templately_import_session_id":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6652","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-international-news"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t