Spain Approves an Eviction Ban to 2030 and Rent Rollovers After an 87-Year-Old's Removal Sparked Mass Protests

Tens of thousands of people marched, and protesters set up a camp of more than 100 tents in the Puerta del Sol in central Madrid, according to Democracy Now.

What the decrees do

The measures include a ban on evictions through 2030 and the rollover of rental contracts until 2028, which is meant to stop landlords letting leases lapse and then resetting the rent. They also bar investment firms, the so-called vulture funds, from buying homes until 2028, tighten the rules for short-term and room rentals, and cap rent increases. Health Minister Mónica García said the package would give relief to more than five million people. "What was unimaginable just a month ago, we have achieved today," she said, adding that this was "the time to intervene in the speculative housing market."

A vote the government may not win

The difficulty is parliamentary. Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez's coalition has no majority in Congress, and the government has asked for an extraordinary session as soon as Friday. Míriam Nogueras of the Catalan party Junts, whose votes the government needs, said the agreement left "small landlords out in the cold" because it lumps individual property owners in with large investment firms.

The pressure behind the decrees is real. AOL's figures put the shortage of homes at 700,000 on the Bank of Spain's estimate, house prices up 12.2 percent over the past year, and rents up 8.5 percent in 2025, with Madrid rising 9.7 percent. Barcelona and Madrid are the most expensive cities, at 23.80 and 22.70 euros a square metre respectively.

Whether the ban survives is now a question of arithmetic. If Junts or others hold out, the decrees could fall and the protests, which began over one woman's eviction, would have a much larger grievance to focus on.