MADRID-(Maravi Post)-Spain’s government has approved a new package of housing measures that would extend protection against evictions until 2030, following nationwide protests sparked by the removal of an 87-year-old woman from her Madrid home.
The BBC reports that the measures were approved by Spain’s coalition government after the eviction of Maricarmen Abascal triggered protests in Madrid, Barcelona, Seville, Malaga and Cadiz over the country’s worsening housing crisis.
The government says the package could provide relief to more than five million people.
The measures were approved through two decrees and are expected to take effect immediately, but they must be endorsed by Congress within 30 days.
Spain’s minority government is hoping lawmakers will approve the measures as quickly as Friday, although it faces uncertainty because it does not control a parliamentary majority.
The package includes extending protection against evictions until 2030 and allowing some existing rental contracts to be extended for an additional two years.
The government also plans tighter regulation of short-term and room rentals.
Another measure would restrict investment funds from purchasing residential properties under rules aimed at curbing speculative activity in the housing market.
Health Minister Mónica García said the government was responding to the pressure created by the housing crisis and recent public demonstrations.
“We need to intervene in the speculative housing market,” García said, according to the BBC.
However, the proposals have already faced criticism from political parties concerned about their impact on small property owners.
Míriam Nogueras, spokeswoman for the Catalan nationalist Junts party, said protections should distinguish between large investment funds and individuals who depend on rental property as an investment.
The government’s housing proposals follow days of demonstrations after Abascal was removed from her Madrid apartment on 23 September.
She was taken away on a stretcher and subsequently admitted to hospital, turning her case into a powerful symbol of Spain’s housing crisis.
Abascal had lived in the apartment for decades after her family first rented it in 1956.
The property was bought by investment company Urbagestión in 2018, after which the rent increased beyond what Abascal could afford on her pension.
Her case has since produced a separate development.
Abascal has accepted a preliminary agreement that would allow her to return to the Madrid apartment after leaving hospital.
Under the reported agreement, she would receive an eight-year rental contract, with the monthly payment capped at about 30% of her net income, or roughly €500.
The eviction has also fuelled wider protests over rising rents and a shortage of affordable homes.
Thousands of people marched through Madrid, while demonstrations and housing protests spread to several other Spanish cities.
Spain’s housing shortage has become a major political issue, with the Bank of Spain estimating a substantial gap between the number of homes demanded and those being built.
Recent data cited by the BBC show that Spanish house prices rose by 12.2% over the year to the second quarter of 2026.
Rental costs also increased sharply, adding pressure on households already struggling with housing affordability.
The government’s proposals now move into the parliamentary phase.
Because Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez’s coalition lacks a majority, the decrees will require support from other political parties to remain in force.
The Junts party and other right-leaning groups have expressed reservations about stronger intervention in the housing market.
The outcome will determine whether the measures approved by the cabinet become lasting changes to Spain’s housing rules.
For housing activists, the Abascal case has become a rallying point in their campaign for stronger protection for tenants and greater regulation of the rental market.
For the government, the immediate challenge is to convert the cabinet agreement into legislation capable of securing enough votes in Congress.
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