Between 25 and 28 September, 40dB. surveyed 2,000 people online about Spain's housing crisis. The results showed broad backing for state action: 67.5% supported policies that limit housing prices even if landlords earn less.
Support crossed party lines. Majorities of voters for PSOE, Sumar, Podemos, PP and Vox backed the idea.
Support was not confined to the left. It reached 56.5% among PP voters and 55.2% among Vox voters. The figures rose to 82.6% for PSOE voters, 95.8% for Sumar voters and 85.4% for Podemos voters. Landlords also backed the policies, with 56.5% supporting price limits.
Just 21.7% said the market alone should set prices, with no role for the state. Access to housing is now Spain's second-biggest public concern, adding political weight to calls for intervention.
Fieldwork began before the Government approved its decrees. It ran during days focused on rent limits and protection for vulnerable people facing eviction.
Several specific measures drew even stronger support. Expanding social housing won backing from 82.4% of respondents. Another 79.7% supported tax advantages for small landlords offering affordable rents. Rent regulation and annual caps also received majority support. So did postponements of evictions affecting vulnerable people.
The wider supply problem remains in focus, as an earlier housing report noted. The survey does not cast the issue as a dispute between tenants and everyone else. Its figures show demand for intervention among owners and voters who back parties less associated with rent controls.
The Maricarmen case brought the debate closer to home. More than 93% of respondents had heard about the eviction. Another 61.8% said an older person should not be removed without an alternative home. A majority of left-wing voters shared that view.
Policy has moved beyond opinion polling. On 29 September 2026, the Government approved an urgent decree-law package. It includes tax incentives for landlords offering affordable rents and cheaper financing for first-time buyers. The package also strengthens eviction protections and includes measures to expand the public housing stock.
The Moncloa government press release said the package also provides for the Casa 47 mechanism, which sets VAT at 4% for social and publicly financed housing. Congress must still approve the decree-law.
Respondents assigned the state the basic responsibility for solving the housing problem. The central government was named the most responsible institution by 43.3%. The PSOE was seen as best equipped to address the issue by 18.5%.
Public pressure helped lead the package after the eviction of an 87-year-old pensioner in Madrid and subsequent protests, as reported by the BBC and DW. The measures also propose tougher rules for short-term and tourist rentals. A reported moratorium would protect vulnerable households from eviction until 2030.
Spain already has a legal structure for stressed housing-market areas. High housing costs or rapidly rising prices can justify extra rent controls there. The new package builds on that structure.
The poll does not show whether intervention will solve the housing crisis or how well each policy will work. The political message is clearer: support for limits on private housing profits extends beyond the traditional left-right divide. PP and Vox voters back the idea, as do many landlords.
