Spain's parliamentary left has gathered outside Madrid's Hospital Gregorio Marañón, where 87-year-old Maricarmen Abascal remains after being evicted from her home last Wednesday. The groups are pressing the PSOE to back stronger rent controls and longer protections in the housing decree under discussion. Abascal has reduced mobility and was hospitalised after severe exhaustion.
The Sindicato de Inquilinas organised the appearance outside the hospital. Izquierda Unida, Comuns, Más Madrid, Compromís, Movimiento Sumar, Podemos, ERC, EH Bildu and BNG joined the event.
Two Sumar ministers were also there: Health Minister Mónica García and Youth and Children Minister Sira Rego. Their presence brought the housing dispute into the coalition Government.
The groups want the Council of Ministers to approve what they call the Decreto Maricarmen. Sumar wants the package on the cabinet's agenda for Tuesday, 29 September. RTVE reports that if the Government approves the decree, Congress must confirm it within 30 days or it will lose force.
The demands include an immediate rent freeze and a stronger two-year extension for rental contracts that end before June 2028. The groups also want rules for room rentals and automatic contract renewals. Seasonal and tourist rentals are also on the negotiating agenda. Sumar has warned it will not accept a watered-down text that leaves these forms of housing pressure outside the decree. The measures remain under discussion and have not been approved.
The extension period is the basic dispute. Sumar sources say the coalition partners agreed last July to provide protection for the next two years. They now accuse the socialists of trying to halve that period.
Maricarmen's home is another unresolved issue. Some believe its possible expropriation will remain outside the decree; others insist no demand has been dropped.
The previous housing decree failed in Congress. The PP, Vox and Junts voted against it.
The PSOE now faces the same numbers problem. Junts has refused to support some of the proposed measures. RTVE reports that the Government is weighing Junts' demands while also needing Podemos' support for the decree in Congress.
The smaller coalition partner wants the text settled before it reaches the chamber. It does not want to rely on a last-minute parliamentary rescue.
Mónica García says the talks remain far from an agreement. She has also said her side will not accept partial solutions. García described Maricarmen's case as a turning point between protecting families and allowing speculation to continue.
The pressure follows an earlier report on the dispute around an offer from Urbagestión and the campaign that followed.
The demands extend beyond the coalition's internal dispute. Enrique Santiago of IU says workers can spend 50 to 60 percent of their salary on housing.
Alberto Ibáñez of Compromís wants progress towards indefinite rentals and rules for room rentals. Gerardo Pisarello of Comuns says the measures now on the table cannot be negotiated away.
ERC has urged the groups to secure approval of an ambitious decree, directing its appeal at Junts.
Podemos calls the Sindicato de Inquilinas' demands a minimum. The party has also called for the expropriation of homes held by vulture funds. Its representatives say the Government negotiated with Junts without showing a complete document to the groups expected to support the decree.
The PSOE and Sumar have disagreed over housing policy for years. Sumar, and Unidas Podemos before it, has pushed harder for rent intervention. The law creating stressed areas has barely been applied because regions governed by the PP oppose it.
The current fight concerns whether the coalition will impose enforceable protections or approve another, narrower package. The disputed points include contract-extension length and the treatment of room and seasonal rentals. Rent freezes and the Government's response to limits imposed by Junts are also at issue.
The appearance outside the hospital gives the smaller parties a shared platform and leaves the PSOE with a choice: the Government can back a decree that meets their demands or put forward a text vulnerable to rejection and an internal revolt.
