After days of protests, Spain’s tenants may finally see some relief. The demonstrations, sparked by the eviction of an 87-year-old woman from her Madrid home, have prompted the government to approve a fresh package of measures aimed at easing pressure on tenants and the wider housing market.The two decrees approved on Tuesday cover evictions, rental agreements, short-term and room rentals, and property purchases by investment funds. The measures take effect immediately, but the minority government now has 30 days to get them through Congress.The protests, which began around Madrid’s Puerta del Sol and spread to other parts of the country, have put housing firmly at the centre of the political debate. The government is now pushing to fast-track the measures, with an extraordinary parliamentary session on housing planned for Friday.
What are the emergency housing measures ?
Health minister Mónica García said that the measures would bring relief to more than five million people. Housing minister Isabel Rodríguez said the main decree would extend protection against evictions for vulnerable Spaniards until 2030, BBC reported.The package also includes a new tax on seasonal rentals and a ban on “speculative real estate purchases by vulture funds” until 2028. The full text of the decree has not yet been released, leaving details such as how such funds will be classified and the size of the proposed tax unclear.Other measures include tax breaks for landlords who rent to low-income tenants, interest-free loans for families buying their first home, and measures to protect public housing and promote its construction.García, of the Sumar alliance, said, “It is time to intervene in the speculative housing market and start striking a balance between ordinary citizens and vulture funds.”Labour minister Yolanda Díaz also credited the protests, writing on social media, “This has been thanks to the citizen movement. To Maricarmen. To the thousands of people in the streets.”
87-year-old woman to return home
The measures followed protests sparked by the eviction of María del Carmen Abascal, widely known as Maricarmen, from the Madrid apartment where she had lived for seven decades.Abascal was carried out of the apartment on a stretcher last Wednesday and has remained in hospital. Her case drew tens of thousands of people onto the streets and became a focal point of protests over Spain’s housing crisis.On Tuesday, her lawyer Beatriz Duro said Abascal had reached an agreement with the company that owns her apartment in Madrid’s upscale Retiro neighbourhood. She will return home after being discharged from hospital.The agreement limits her rent to 30% of her income, meaning she will not pay more than the €500 a month she previously paid.“She is very happy,” said Duro.According to Spanish media reports, Abascal’s father first rented the apartment in 1956 and she continued as the tenant after her parents died. The building changed ownership in 2018, and Abascal was offered the chance to buy it but could not afford it, according to the Madrid Tenants’ Union.Urbagestión, an investment fund that later bought the unit, raised her monthly rent from €500 to €2,650. It subsequently lowered it to €1,650, which Abascal still could not afford on her pension.
Protesters demand more action
The Madrid Tenants’ Union, which organised the protests, said it would remain cautious until it could examine the full text of the decree.“We all have our eyes on the text, on the small print, to make sure this is the Maricarmen decree,” said Alicia del Río, a spokesperson for the organisation.Valeria Racu, another spokesperson, said the battle had “only just begun” and called for more protests across Spain next weekend.The union said the protests would continue, with smaller encampments already appearing in cities including Seville, Málaga, Santiago de Compostela and Palma de Mallorca.“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,” del Río said.The regional government, led by the conservative People’s Party, has asked the government delegate to clear the Puerta del Sol encampment within 48 hours before taking the matter to court. The protesters have remained peaceful.The union said in a statement: “There are years when nothing happens, and weeks when history is made. This could be one of them,” and called for pressure to be increased in the coming days.