Spain's Anti-Eviction Decree: Housing Fix or Unfair Burden on Small Landlords?

Spain's left-wing coalition government has unveiled a sweeping set of housing measures aimed at banning evictions through 2030, a response to the forced removal of an 87-year-old woman that ignited mass protests across the country. The proposals, which include rolling over rental contracts and barring so-called vulture funds from the housing market, will be split into two decrees scheduled for a parliamentary vote on Friday. Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez's minority government faces an uphill battle to secure the necessary support, as its slim legislative position leaves it dependent on smaller parties that have already voiced reservations.

The catalyst for the government's intervention was the eviction of Maricarmen Abascal, a wheelchair user who had lived in her Madrid apartment for more than seven decades. She was removed from the property in the central Retiro neighbourhood on a stretcher last week, a scene that drew more than 10,000 protesters to the streets. Abascal had occupied the home under a rent-capped lease signed by her father in the 1950s, but the property was acquired in 2018 by Urbagestion, a real estate and investment firm. The company sought to terminate her contract after raising her rent from 500 euros to 2,650 euros per month, a sum nearly double her monthly pension of 1,350 euros, according to the Spanish newspaper El Pais.

Police carried out the eviction on their fourth attempt on September 23, with hundreds of activists gathered outside in support of the elderly woman. Video footage of Abascal's struggle circulated widely on social media, transforming her into a national symbol of Spain's escalating housing crisis. Spontaneous demonstrations erupted that same day in front of a luxury penthouse that Madrid's regional government, led by Isabel Diaz Ayuso of the conservative People's Party, had recently purchased for purposes that remain unclear. Protesters chanted slogans such as "Ayuso's penthouse for Maricarmen" and "Shame! Shame!" while the platform #Niundesahuciomas, meaning "Not One More Eviction," organized simultaneous rallies in Avila, Barcelona, Cadiz, Oviedo, Sevilla and Valencia.

Speaking at the United Nations General Assembly, Sanchez described evictions as "a social tragedy that we cannot accept as a country" and placed blame on local and regional governments in Madrid run by the People's Party. Housing Minister Isabel Rodriguez Garcia said the eviction "evidences the consequences of savage speculation and of rolling out the red carpet to the vultures and the speculators." The government has framed its decree as an essential corrective to a market that has increasingly favoured institutional investors over ordinary citizens, particularly in urban centres where rental prices have soared beyond the reach of average earners.

Data compiled by the Bank of Spain and reported by El Pais underscores the scale of the problem. Real estate wealth in the country now exceeds 7.4 trillion euros, but the gains are far from evenly distributed. The wealthiest 10 percent of households own roughly one-third of all real estate wealth, while the bottom half owns only about 15 percent. The number of owners holding two, five or more properties has risen significantly, while the share of small owners with just one property has declined. This concentration of property wealth has fuelled public anger and strengthened the argument that speculative investment is pricing ordinary Spaniards out of their own neighbourhoods.

Health Minister Monica Garcia has framed parliamentary approval of the measures as non-negotiable, particularly after a similar decree seeking to roll over rental contracts was blocked in April by right-leaning parties. "Right-wing parties have to choose: either they're with the citizens, or they're with the foreign vulture funds," she wrote on X on Wednesday. "Let them prove their patriotism beyond bracelets and flags. And if they don't, may it cost them dearly." Her remarks reflect the government's strategy of framing the vote as a moral test, seeking to shame opponents into backing the decree or risk electoral consequences.

The housing minister has said the government intends to broaden the definition of a vulture fund beyond large private equity firms to encompass any fund or company that purchases housing for speculative purposes. She named Urbagestion, the firm that owns Abascal's apartment, as an example of a business that might fall under that expanded category. Abascal's lawyer, Beatriz Duro, said on Tuesday that Urbagestion had offered a preliminary agreement that would allow her client to return home, with the elderly woman paying 30 percent of her pension over the next eight years, equivalent to about 500 euros per month.

However, the path to passage is complicated by the demands of Junts, the Catalan pro-independence party whose support the government needs. On Tuesday, Junts said it remained far from agreeing on all measures and insisted on safeguards for small landlords, who make up the vast majority of property owners in Spain. The party argues that these individuals would be treated identically to large institutional investors under the current proposal. Its parliamentary spokesperson, Miriam Nogueras, said the agreement left "small landlords out in the cold." She added: "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. 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."

Alberto Nunez Feijoo, the leader of the conservative People's Party, also criticised the government's approach, saying that "eight years adrift in housing policy aren't fixed with an 11th-hour decree." His comment reflects a broader opposition argument that the left-wing coalition has neglected housing policy for years and is now resorting to rushed, ideologically driven measures that could chill investment and reduce the supply of rental properties. The political divide has become increasingly sharp, with renters and property owners pitted against each other in a debate that touches on ownership rights, social justice and the role of the state in regulating the housing market.

The proposed ban on evictions until 2030 would represent one of the most aggressive interventions in Spain's housing market in decades, and its fate now rests with a fragmented parliament. If approved, the decree could provide immediate relief to tenants facing displacement, but it may also trigger unintended consequences, such as landlords withdrawing their properties from the rental market or delaying necessary maintenance. The government's challenge will be to craft a measure that genuinely protects vulnerable tenants without penalising the small property owners whose savings are tied up in a single flat, a group that both Junts and the opposition have identified as a key constituency that must not be alienated.

Beyond the immediate legislative battle, the controversy highlights a deeper structural tension in Spain's housing system. The concentration of real estate wealth among a small share of households, combined with rising rents and stagnant wages, has created conditions in which evictions are not isolated incidents but symptoms of a broader affordability crisis. The government's decision to target speculative investment marks a significant shift in policy direction, one that attempts to rebalance the market in favour of residents rather than investors. Whether the decree ultimately succeeds in parliament or fails, the protests sparked by Abascal's removal have ensured that housing will remain a central and contentious issue in Spanish politics for the foreseeable future.