A camp has formed in Madrid's Puerta del Sol after a housing march on 26 September 2026. Organisers want urgent action on evictions, rent increases and the proposed "decreto Maricarmen".
The march went from Puerta del Sol through Cibeles to the Congress of Deputies on Saturday, 26 September 2026. The camp appeared after the march and continued through the night, according to La Vanguardia. Protesters stayed in the capital instead of ending the action with the demonstration.
The Sindicato de Inquilinas de Madrid wants the Government, PP, Vox and Junts to respond to what it calls a housing emergency affecting millions of people in Spain. Its immediate demand is approval of the proposed "decreto Maricarmen". The group says Maricarmen's case shows why isolated measures will not fix the housing system.
The camp stayed.
Estimates of the demonstration’s size diverged sharply: Madrid authorities put attendance at about 25,000 people, while organisers claimed 300,000 participants, according to reports by the Associated Press and Spanish media.
Reports from the square described around 20 tents. Dozens or hundreds of people spent the night there. The demonstration became an ongoing occupation of Puerta del Sol.
Maricarmen has also spoken directly to Pedro Sánchez in a video shared on social media. She said she wanted her experience to help people fight and change unjust laws. AP and Spanish reports identify her as an 87-year-old woman who lived in the property all her life before her eviction. Her case has become a symbol of Spain's rental crisis.
The proposed package would automatically renew all rental contracts and make them indefinite. The Sindicato de Inquilinas cites England, Germany and Austria as examples where such arrangements exist. It also wants stronger protection against evictions that would prevent the removal of vulnerable families and households.
The case has a stark financial detail. According to AFP, the rent rose by 275% to €2,650 a month. Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez called the housing crisis a "tragedy".
According to AFP, the rent in Maricarmen’s case rose by 275% to €2,650 a month. Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has described the housing crisis as a “tragedy”, underlining the case’s national political resonance.
The union is also demanding a freeze on rent updates linked to the CPI. It wants changes to the Ley de Arrendamientos Urbanos, or LAU, to regulate seasonal and room-by-room rentals. It is seeking effective extensions for contracts already in force.
For the organisation, the dispute is bigger than one tenant's fate. It wants housing to stop operating as a speculative business and become a guaranteed right. That puts the proposed decree at the centre of a wider argument over temporary protections.
Actions are planned in Burgos, León, Ibiza, Córdoba, Zamora, Almería and Huesca. More dates may be announced in the coming days. Democrata and other reports describe simultaneous actions in dozens of cities. The campaign uses the slogan "Ni una Maricarmen más".
The route from Sol to Congress addressed regional and national authorities at the same time. Some attendees compared the atmosphere in Puerta del Sol with the 15M movement. That comparison comes from participants, not from an announced political programme. The overnight camp also recalls the protest experience of 2011.
The demands now have a specific legislative form: indefinite contract renewal, stronger protection against evictions, frozen CPI updates, regulation of seasonal and room rentals, and extensions for existing agreements. None of these measures has been approved. The camp is demanding legal change, not celebrating one.
The Government is being asked to act on a named case. Opposition parties face the same housing demands. Parallel actions in several cities could keep the issue in the political debate beyond Madrid.
The result is still pending. The campaign has gained visibility and coordination, but it has not yet changed the rules governing rent and evictions. Its next test is whether the pressure can move the proposed "decreto Maricarmen" onto the political agenda.
