Silicone was put in the locks of more than 40 Alquiler Seguro offices, the company’s commercial director Rafael Durán said on 11 November. He also reported posters and graffiti on shopfronts during Spain’s first general strike in 14 years, a 24-hour stoppage focused on housing access and living conditions, with wages also at issue. The Sindicato de Inquilinas called the strike, which was backed by the UGT and CCOO.
On 10 November, the company reported vandalism at 27 of its 63 Spanish offices, in Madrid and Barcelona. Offices in A Coruña and Vitoria were also affected, as were those in Bilbao and Oviedo. It later raised the total to more than 40. Independent coverage described graffiti including “Speculators out” and “Guilty parties out of our neighbourhood.” Another slogan read “Thieves,” alongside stickers and alleged staff intimidation. Durán said employees had suffered what he described as moral harm; one employee told Todo Alicante, “I came to work in fear today.”
Durán named the Sindicato de Inquilinas as a possible party responsible; the account reported by Europa Press does not establish who carried out the vandalism. Alquiler Seguro attributed the earlier incidents to the union, which denied carrying out any action of that kind and rejected responsibility. Durán said a group of about 100 people had entered the company’s offices at 18 Avenida de América in Madrid the previous day, led by the union’s spokesperson Alicia del Río. He reported material damage and said staff had suffered what he described as moral harm.
The strike also brought disruption in València, where pickets blocked routes into the city, according to a report on road disruption. In Madrid, tenant-union pickets interrupted traffic on the A-42 and A-3. They also disrupted the M-30 and A-5. The Sindicato de Inquilinas said its action was directed at all governments responsible for housing policy.
Durán said the union repeatedly blamed Alquiler Seguro for the housing crisis. He rejected that accusation, saying the company does not own properties and does not make housing laws; its role, he said, is to manage homes for private owners and provide a service to landlords and tenants.
He said the company puts more than 600 homes on the market each month at what he described as affordable prices. Durán also denied that the agency drives up rents or imposes abusive conditions, and urged people to compare its listings with those on other property portals.
Durán said Alquiler Seguro’s advice to landlords is intended to moderate rents and reduce tenant turnover. Sindicato de Inquilinas spokesperson Alicia del Río described the strike as the start of a new cycle of action for housing rights and better living conditions for working people.
