Thousands marched across Spain after Congress rejected emergency housing measures on October 2, 2026. Renters demanded lower costs and protection from evictions as pressure grew on Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez.
Congress rejected both housing decrees on October 2, 2026. The first vote ended 178 to 172. The second ended 184 to 166. Proposals on evictions, rental contracts and investment funds failed to pass.
Reuters and the BBC called the defeat a major political setback for Pedro Sánchez's coalition government. The vote turned a housing dispute into a direct challenge for the government.
More than 50 demonstrations took place across Spain. Crowds gathered in Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia, Málaga, Santiago de Compostela, Zaragoza, A Coruña, Alicante, Santander and Las Palmas de Gran Canaria.
Renters called for lower prices and an end to evictions. They also demanded restrictions on property purchases by investment funds known in Spain as «fondos buitre».
That anger filled the streets.
The Madrid camp on Puerta del Sol began on September 26 and became a key mobilisation point before the march to Congress.
The clearest protest symbol was simple: raised house keys.
In Madrid, many demonstrators came from Puerta del Sol. Dozens of people had camped there for several days.
David, one of those staying at the camp, told RTVE that he remained there out of conviction rather than comfort. Marcos Sainz, a 26-year-old librarian, told AFP that he once paid 900 euros a month while sharing a two-bedroom flat with friends. He said a one-bedroom home now commonly costs 1,000 euros.
Sainz said he would keep protesting until rents were properly regulated. Otherwise, he said, people would be forced to leave Madrid.
The pressure is measurable. Idealista reported that rental costs rose 8.5% across Spain in 2025 and 9.7% in Madrid. Barcelona and Madrid were the country's most expensive cities for tenants, at 23.80 euros and 22.70 euros per square metre respectively.
Junts per Catalunya helped bring down the package after arguing that the proposed restrictions could ultimately make the housing market tighter rather than expand access to homes. The party’s position was decisive because the government needed support from smaller nationalist parties after the Partido Popular and Vox opposed the decrees.
The immediate trigger was the eviction of Maricarmen Abascal, an 87-year-old woman who could not meet a sharp rent increase.
An agreement with the property company later allowed her to return home. By then, her case had fueled protests across the country. It also focused public anger on landlords, speculation and investment funds.
Valencia saw the most serious clashes. A property summit was taking place near the Palau de les Arts Reina Sofía. Some protesters removed barriers and threw objects at police.
Officers used rubber bullets and tear gas. RTVE reported that nine police officers were injured and five people were arrested.
Madrid's demonstrations passed without serious incidents. Heavy rain forced Barcelona to postpone its mobilisation.
The unrest spread quickly.
The rejected package contained two decrees. One would have suspended evictions of vulnerable tenants until 2030. It also would have extended rental contracts expiring before 2028 by two years.
The same decree proposed higher taxes on tourist apartments. It would have restricted residential purchases by investment funds.
The second decree proposed automatic renewal of rental agreements. That was a central demand of the left and tenant unions.
The package went beyond eviction protection. It also targeted short-term rentals and large-scale investment in residential property.
Congress rejected the first text by 178 votes to 172 and the second by 184 votes to 166. The conservative Partido Popular and far-right Vox had already declared their opposition.
The government needed smaller nationalist parties from Catalonia and the Basque Country. Junts per Catalunya opposed the initiative before the vote.
The defeat has fueled talk of an early general election. It has also increased pressure on Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez.
Elections must be held no later than next summer. Euronews reported that the Madrid Tenants' Union had threatened a general strike and had contacted Unión General de Trabajadores and Comisiones Obreras.
If organised, the action would be Spain's first general strike since 2012.
The housing shortage gives the protests a hard economic base. The Banco de España estimates a deficit of more than 700,000 homes. Without action, it warned, the gap could reach one million within two years.
House prices rose 12.2% over the year, according to second-quarter 2026 figures from the Instituto Nacional de Estadística.
Those figures explain why the parliamentary defeat is more than a narrow legislative loss. The government's proposals were limited, and they failed.
The pressure behind them is growing. Rents are higher. The supply gap is wider. Tenant groups are more organised.
The political cost is now tied to the housing cost. Unless Congress produces measures that renters can use, the protests are likely to continue.
