Unpaid rent caused 65% of Spain's evictions in early 2026. The total fell sharply from a year earlier, while Catalonia recorded the most court-ordered removals.
Unpaid rent caused almost two out of every three evictions in Spain during the first quarter of 2026. Courts recorded 4,005 launches between January and March. That was 45.4% fewer than in the same period of 2025. Figures from Spain's General Council of the Judiciary (CGPJ) show that unpaid rent accounted for 2,600 cases, or 64.9% of the total. It was the main route to losing a home, well ahead of mortgage enforcement.
The case of Maricarmen, an 87-year-old tenant in Madrid's Retiro district, has pushed the issue back into public view. Her situation reflects a housing crisis that has changed since the financial crash. Mortgage defaults once dominated the eviction debate. Rental arrears now account for 65% of court-ordered launches.
Spanish courts recorded an average of about 44.5 eviction launches every day in the first quarter of 2026.
Catalonia recorded the most removals, with 921 cases. That was 23% of the national total. The Valencian Community followed with 741 cases, Andalusia with 616 and Madrid with 582. Europa Press and other outlets reported the regional ranking using court statistics.
The lower national total does not remove the pressure on tenants who cannot keep up with monthly payments. It also does not mean that every type of housing enforcement is moving in the same direction.
Proceedings under the Law of Urban Leases (LAU) produced 2,600 launches in the first quarter. That was a 53.9% drop from a year earlier. The Valencian Community ranked first in this category with 513 cases. Catalonia had 489, Madrid had 454 and Andalusia had 355.
The Maricarmen case was described in the public reaction as a rental-arrears eviction rather than a mortgage repossession. The case therefore entered the wider political debate over tenant protection, housing costs and the different regional patterns of court-ordered removals.
Mortgage-related launches made up 24.24% of all removals and fell 18.3% from a year earlier. Catalonia again recorded the most cases, with 217. Andalusia followed with 208 and the Valencian Community with 158. The distinction matters because the national figures cover several legal routes that can lead to the loss of possession.
The pressure shown in the court figures is part of a broader national concern. A housing analysis published earlier examined how rising prices and a structural shortage of homes have made housing Spain's biggest problem in public opinion surveys.
Mortgage enforcement data point to a separate risk. The number of executions involving habitual homes reached 3,703 in the second quarter of this year. That was 10% more than in the previous quarter and 27.5% above the same period a year earlier. According to the INE statistic cited in the source material, it was the highest figure since the first quarter of 2017. These are certificates of mortgage executions initiated and registered in Property Registries, not completed evictions. The launch procedure begins only if the affected owner does not surrender possession.
The full-year figures for 2025 show the scale more clearly. The Consejo General del Poder Judicial recorded 25,540 eviction proceedings, 11% fewer than in 2024. Of those cases, 18,317, or 71.7%, arose from LAU proceedings. Another 4,346, equal to 17%, followed mortgage executions. Other causes accounted for 1,877 launches.
Rental-related removals fell 10.9% year on year in 2025. Those linked to mortgage enforcement fell 14.3%. Catalonia accounted for 6,814 launches, or 26.6% of the national total, followed by Andalusia.
The figures show that Spain's eviction problem is no longer mainly about unpaid mortgages. It is concentrated in the rental market. Thousands of proceedings remain even as the total falls, and tenants facing rent arrears now sit at the center of the issue while owners face mortgage enforcement. The sharp annual decline does not mean the housing problem has been solved.
