Tenants' organizations in Spain have called for large-scale demonstrations across the country on Saturday to denounce the shortage of affordable housing.
The main slogan of the demonstrations was "Let's put an end to the profiteering of homes," expressing citizens' anger over deteriorating housing conditions. Protests were called in approximately 40 cities, including Palma de Mallorca, Barcelona, and Madrid, with tens of thousands expected to participate.
The organizers called for an end to real estate speculation and an increase in social housing units, as well as restrictions on converting homes into tourist apartments, lowering rents, and implementing expropriation policies for public housing.
Media reports indicate that Spain has suffered from a severe housing shortage for years, leading to skyrocketing rents. The crisis has been exacerbated by mass and luxury tourism, which has further congested the market in destinations such as Mallorca, Barcelona, Valencia, Malaga, and Madrid.
With tourist numbers hitting record highs each year, low-income residents are struggling to keep up with rising prices. In this context, today represents an opportunity for protesters to make their voices heard by the government and demand urgent solutions to the housing crisis, a major concern for Spaniards.
The Spanish Central Bank revealed that 40% of renter households spend more than 40% of their income on housing, while social housing represents only 3.4% of the total supply. Construction units also declined from 600,000 annually during the 2007 housing crisis to less than 100,000 in 2024, due to rising costs and shortages of land and labor.
In response to the crisis, the government announced measures to stimulate construction and allocate land for social housing, while Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez affirmed his readiness to intervene to control rents. During the inauguration of 218 affordable housing units in Seville, Sánchez said, "Spaniards want a fair market governed by laws, not monopolies."
The government has accused tourist apartments of exacerbating the crisis, particularly in the Canary Islands and the Balearic Islands, where residents have staged protests against overtourism. Several cities, including Barcelona, have announced plans to restrict or completely abolish tourist licenses by 2028.
Parliament has passed a law setting rent ceilings in "high-stress" areas, but it currently applies only in the Basque Country, Navarre, and Catalonia.
Data showed rents fell by 3.7% in Catalonia and 6.4% in Barcelona after the law was implemented, but it also caused some landlords to withdraw from the market.
The government also proposed a 100% tax on non-EU property, a measure that would particularly affect British buyers. However, these steps have been criticized by Conservatives, while others are calling for stricter measures.
For his part, Gonzalo Alvarez, a representative of the tenants' union, believes that the solution does not lie in new construction, but rather in "liberating the units monopolized by tourist apartments and investment funds."
Alvarez warned of the possibility of a national tenant strike during which they would refuse to pay rent, saying, "If the government does not act, we will have to act ourselves."