Housing Crisis in Spain Ignites Open Protests in the Heart of Madrid

By Hanadi Wafaa (Report) Madrid, Sept 28 (KUNA) -- Puerta del Sol, in the heart of the Spanish capital Madrid, has been transformed into an open protest camp demanding urgent measures to address the housing crisis, a movement that brought back to the square scenes of protest that characterized Spain 15 years ago with the May 15 movement, which contributed to reshaping the Spanish political landscape.

The sit-in occurred spontaneously following a massive demonstration protesting the eviction of 87-year-old Maria Carmen Abascal from the home she had lived in for more than seven decades due to her inability to pay rent. Her case has become a symbol of the current protests against the housing crisis.

The camping process began on the evening of the previous Saturday, when around 300 participants in the demonstration decided to remain in the square and set up tents. The camp expanded on Sunday, taking the form of an organized protest area featuring spaces for distributing food and water, holding meetings, and organizing solidarity events, prompting some local media to describe it as a "temporary city."

Protesters are demanding that the government approve what they have called the "Maria Carmen Decree," which includes open-ended rental contracts, suspension of evictions when no alternative housing is available, stricter oversight of seasonal contracts, and measures to curb rising rents.

For his part, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez stated on his official account on the X platform that Maria Carmen’s case represents a "social tragedy," while affirming that his government is working "around the clock" to approve a new housing decree on Tuesday.

However, behind this direct political and social scene lies a story much larger than a single eviction or rising rents. Spain’s housing crisis appears to be the tip of the iceberg of a broader crisis concerning the cost of living and purchasing power.

Figures from the Spanish National Statistics Institute reveal the scale of change in daily life over the past decade. The general price level in Spain rose by approximately 27 percent between January 2015 and January 2025, while annual inflation reached 4.3 percent in August, the highest reading since February 2023.

Furthermore, a study by the institute published on September 7 indicated that the house price index rose by 12.2 percent year-on-year in the second quarter of this year, and by 3.4 percent compared to the first quarter.

The rental market reveals more concentrated pressures. Latest official data published by the institute in May showed that the rental housing price index rose by 22.6 percent in Madrid, 36.4 percent in Valencia, 32.7 percent in Malaga, and 24.6 percent in Barcelona between 2015 and 2024.

Meanwhile, according to leading Spanish real estate platforms, including Idealista, rental prices experienced continuous and rapid growth between 2015 and 2026, rising by more than 100 percent and reaching record levels in 2025 and 2026.

Idealista noted in a study published last August that the national average price was seven euros per square meter per month in 2015, while the average rental cost stabilized by August 2026 at 15.1 euros per square meter per month. This means renting a home in Spain today costs more than double what it did a decade ago.

According to the Bank of Spain’s annual 2025 report, the roots of the crisis lie in a growing imbalance between supply and demand, particularly in major cities and tourist areas, as well as population growth, limited social housing stock, and the use of some properties for tourist or seasonal rentals.

The bank pointed out that the severity of the problem is evident in the fact that 32.5 percent of renting households in Spain spent more than 30 percent of their net income on rent in 2024, with this figure rising to 41.3 percent in Madrid.

However, explaining the crisis solely by a lack of supply is insufficient. Here, the housing crisis intersects with the cost-of-living crisis. For an increasing segment of the population, work no longer guarantees the same ease of securing housing, saving money, achieving independence, forming a family, and remaining in the city where the job is located.

Although average official wages in Spain have risen over the past decade, this has not translated into a similar increase in purchasing power, as it coincided with a sharp rise in the price index and increased burdens and tax revenues.

Data from the National Statistics Institute show that 25.7 percent of the population is at risk of poverty or social exclusion, 8 percent suffer from severe material and social deprivation, and 8.5 percent struggle significantly to make ends meet.

Today’s sit-in recalls a protest in the same square 15 years ago and the emergence of the May 15 movement following the financial crisis, unemployment, austerity, and loss of trust in political institutions. This paved the way a few years later for the emergence of the Podemos party, founded in 2014, which later became a major force in reshaping the Spanish party system.

While the 2011 protests essentially expressed a generation’s demand for jobs and an economic system that would allow for a fairer future, today’s protests reflect a more immediate and pressing demand: the ability to secure a home and ensure a life that is affordable.

Therefore, the decisions of the next government will be more than just decisions regarding new decrees; they will serve as a test of the institutions’ ability to respond to growing social pressure that extends to a broader crisis in housing and the rising cost of living. (End) H.N./N.A.A.