Spain approves housing decrees on evictions and rental contracts after protests

Spain’s cabinet approved two housing decrees on Tuesday, 29 September, following protests over the eviction of an 87-year-old Madrid tenant. The measures address evictions, rental contracts and property purchases, but their future depends on a vote in Congress, where the governing coalition lacks a majority. Cadena SER reported that the government has requested an extraordinary sitting on Friday, 2 October, to seek validation of both texts.

What the decrees propose

According to Cadena SER, the first decree extends protection against evictions through 2030, regulates seasonal and room rentals, and bars purchases by investment funds described as speculative through 2028. The reports available after the cabinet meeting do not establish the full legal text or detailed eligibility rules. The proposed dates therefore describe the measures as reported, rather than a confirmed entitlement for every tenant facing eviction.

The second decree provides for automatic renewal of rental contracts, Cadena SER reported. Its separation from the other housing measures became a point of dispute within the coalition: Sumar ministers wanted renewal included in the first text, according to the broadcaster’s account of their remarks. The distinction matters because Congress will consider two decrees, and support for one does not establish support for the other.

Cadena SER reported that neither Junts nor the PNV backed the automatic-renewal measure. Other parliamentary groups said they had not yet seen the texts and would decide their positions after examining them. The government has asked for a Friday sitting, but no parliamentary vote had taken place when those reports were published. The BBC said the minority coalition has 30 days from publication of a decree to secure agreement in parliament.

The eviction behind the protests

The announcement followed protests prompted by the eviction of Maricarmen Abascal, 87, from her Madrid home last week. The BBC reported that she was removed from the apartment on a stretcher and later admitted to hospital. Demonstrators established an encampment at Puerta del Sol in central Madrid, while protests also took place in Barcelona, Seville, Málaga and Cádiz.

Abascal’s lawyer said on Monday that an agreement had been reached with the company that owns the apartment to allow her to return, the BBC reported. She was unable to attend that meeting and had not yet signed the deal at the time of the report. The agreement therefore did not establish that she had already returned home.

Her case has become a focus for broader demands about the security of rental housing. Protesters gathered in Madrid and other cities as ministers negotiated the response. The cabinet’s approval is a concrete step, but it leaves open the central question for tenants and landlords: which provisions Congress will validate and how their final terms will apply.

Political objections and the next vote

Junts spokeswoman Míriam Nogueras criticised the agreement for what she said was its treatment of small landlords. She told Spanish public broadcaster RTVE that stopping evictions involving properties owned by large funds was one thing, but putting people who had invested savings in a flat or other property in the same category was a mistake, according to the BBC. Her objection illustrates the parliamentary difficulty facing the coalition.

Housing Minister Isabel Rodríguez said the government wanted the texts considered as soon as possible, Cadena SER reported. The broadcaster said the government had requested an extraordinary congressional sitting for Friday. A request for a sitting is not a vote in favour of either decree; the outcome remains uncertain, particularly for the separately proposed automatic renewal of rental contracts.

For now, the reported package establishes what ministers have approved and the immediate route they are seeking through Congress. The detailed wording of the decrees and the votes of parties outside the coalition will determine the scope and survival of the proposed protections. Neither the stated 2030 horizon for eviction protection nor the contract-renewal plan should be read as a settled result before that parliamentary test.