Tenant unions are mobilising nationwide before Friday's parliamentary vote on 2 October. They want both housing decrees approved, automatic rent renewals protected and stronger safeguards against evictions.
Congress is due to vote on two government decrees on Friday, 2 October. Tenant unions have planned protests before and after the session. The Confederación de Sindicatos de Inquilinas has called saucepan protests across Spain for Thursday at 20.00. Demonstrations will follow throughout the weekend.
The group wants lawmakers to approve both texts. It also wants automatic rental renewals protected. Its longer-term plan is a general housing strike.
Street pressure has already changed the package. The organisation says the government adopted nearly all the measures in the so-called "decreto Maricarmen" after several days of mobilisation. It sharply objects to the decision to split those measures into two decrees. The unions say the split could make it easier for parliamentary groups to reject automatic renewal of rental contracts.
The Madrid mobilisation was triggered by the attempted eviction of 87-year-old Maricarmen Abascal, which helped lead to a protest encampment at Puerta del Sol and broader demands for more secure or indefinite rental contracts.
Automatic renewal is the main fault line. The unions are asking every party to back both decrees. They warn that rejecting them would ignore the public pressure seen in recent days.
Each text needs its own vote in Congress. That is because the government adopted the measures as two separate decrees.
Thursday's action is meant to reach lawmakers before the extraordinary plenary session. The result is still uncertain. Support from Junts and other parliamentary partners is needed. By 1 October, Junts had indicated that it was ready to vote against the package unless the government withdrew or changed the housing decree.
The pressure is already outside parliament.
At the PP headquarters on Madrid's Génova street, tenant union spokesperson Alicia del Río addressed Alberto Núñez Feijóo directly. She called on his party's deputies to support the texts. Del Río presented Friday's decision as a choice between protecting families and defending speculation. She said a social majority had already made its position clear.
Saturday's demonstrations will go ahead whatever Congress decides. The organisation also says its camp will remain in place.
The package includes protection measures for vulnerable tenants, including a proposed extension of the suspension of certain evictions until 2030, restrictions affecting so-called vulture funds and automatic extensions of rental contracts in specified circumstances. Podemos has said it will support both decrees, but the positions of Junts and PNV remain decisive.
Housing pressure has drawn wider attention. An earlier housing report said Spain's supply shortfall is set to pass one million homes.
This campaign is focused on one legislative chance. The unions want the approved measures kept together. They also want a rule that gives tenants more continuity in their homes. Reports by El País and other Spanish outlets have described the vote as a close parliamentary test for the government.
The Confederación de Sindicatos de Inquilinas does not describe the decrees as a full answer. It says the measures cannot undo decades of policies that turned housing into a business. The group argues that the recent protests have opened an unusual chance to change the rules of the market.
Its demands go beyond the current texts. They include stronger long-term protection against displacement and more stability for renters.
The campaign will continue after the vote.
Twenty-two mobilisations have been confirmed for Saturday and Sunday. They are planned in Madrid, Valencia, Cádiz, Sevilla, Palma, Guadalajara, Girona, Zaragoza, San Sebastián, Vitoria, Pamplona, Huelva, Granada, Valladolid, A Coruña, Toledo, Vigo, Bilbao, Logroño and Murcia.
The unions want to keep up the pressure. They are also working towards a general strike focused on housing.
In L'Hospitalet de Llobregat, organisers had already planned a protest with a column coming from Barcelona. It was set to remember Olga, the neighbour who took her own life after her eviction. The unions now want the march to demand a wider right to housing. They also want to prevent anyone else from facing a similar situation.
The political message is clear. Friday's vote is another test, not the end of the dispute.
By dividing the measures, the government gave parliamentary groups separate points on which to act. The unions have tied automatic contract renewal to family stability. Their plan is direct: pressure before Friday, demonstrations afterwards and a push towards a general housing strike.
Congress will decide the next step. The campaign has already moved the issue from ministerial decrees to organised action in cities across Spain. Tenant unions are now challenging how political parties handle housing. They want rental security treated as a priority.
