MADRID — Spain's coalition government agreed to proposals to address the country's housing crisis, including a ban on evictions until 2030. The measures come as hundreds protested in Madrid, sparked by the forced removal of an 87-year-old woman last week.
The ruling Socialists and their junior partners, Sumar, reached an agreement Tuesday for a decree outlining the new provisions. The government aims to secure parliamentary support for the decree within 30 days of its publication.
Key measures in the proposed decree include extending existing housing contracts until 2028 and prohibiting vulture funds from participating in the housing market. The government also plans stricter regulation for short-term and by-the-room rentals.
Other proposals include the automatic renewal of rental contracts and new limits on rent increases across the country. Health Minister Monica Garcia said, "It is time to intervene in the speculative housing market and start striking a balance between ordinary citizens and vulture funds."
Despite the agreement within the governing coalition, the minority government faces a challenge in securing parliamentary backing. Junts, a Catalan pro-independence party whose support is necessary for the decree to pass, indicated it was far from agreement Tuesday.
Junts parliamentary spokesperson Miriam Nogueras emphasized the need to protect small landlords. Speaking on RTVE, Nogueras said, "We all agreed that evictions — where the property is owned by a fund, a vulture fund, run by someone managing millions of euros — obviously need to be stopped."
Nogueras added, "Lumping together in this category those who have invested their savings in a flat, a restaurant or a property — putting them all in the same basket — is a mistake." Small landlords constitute the vast majority of property owners in Spain.
The protests in Madrid's main square Tuesday demanded legal reforms beyond the government's proposals, including an immediate rent freeze and the automatic renewal of leases without what protesters describe as abusive rent hikes.
The demonstrations were triggered by the eviction of Maricarmen Abascal, 87, who was removed from her home on a stretcher last Wednesday. Her lawyer, Beatriz Duro, said UrbaGestion, the fund that owns Abascal's apartment, offered a preliminary agreement late Monday.
The proposed agreement would allow Abascal to return to her home if she accepts its terms. These terms include paying 30 percent of her pension over the next eight years, which equates to approximately 500 euros each month. This payment level is similar to what Abascal paid prior to her eviction.
Duro said Abascal "should never have been forced to leave." She added, "I hope this case serves to provide a collective response to the housing crisis."
