Spain's parliament on Friday voted down two emergency housing decrees, 178 to 172, dealing Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez the costliest legislative defeat of his tenure. As lawmakers cast their votes, hundreds of protesters marched on the parliament chanting "your profits, our misery." Speculation is already swirling that Sánchez could bring forward elections from next year.
In the 350-seat lower house, both decrees went down. The first would have banned evictions of vulnerable tenants until 2030, extended a two-year rent freeze for existing leases, tightened rules on short-term rentals, and offered tax incentives to encourage renting and homebuilding. The second would have made residential leases automatically renewable — effectively indefinite — requiring landlords to pay tenants 12 months' rent to break a contract.
The decrees had been rushed out to answer the nationwide fury ignited last week by the eviction of 87-year-old pensioner Maricarmen Abascal. Not one survived.
The decisive blow came from a former ally — the Catalan separatist party Junts, which joined the centre-right Popular Party and the far-right Vox in voting no. Junts lawmaker Miriam Nogueras argued the decrees would only drive landlords to pull properties from the rental market, pushing prices higher still: "These decrees still allow speculators to buy property and to evict people."
Before the vote, Sánchez took the floor at the end of a five-hour debate for a final appeal to the other 349 members: "What is behind these decrees is the desire to instil order and a sense of humanity in a market that if we do not rein it in will destroy our society."
"Think about ordinary people, about those who most need the protection of public institutions. Think about the millions of young people who cannot afford to move out of their parents' homes. Think about the families living with the constant anxiety of ever-rising rents," he said. "Do the right thing, or history will judge you, and sooner than you think."
The plea moved few inside the chamber; outside, anger is escalating. As the vote proceeded, crowds chanted "your profits, our misery," and people in the public gallery shouted "vulture funds govern the congress." When the result was announced, the vote was loudly jeered.
The main protest group, the renters' association Sindicato de Inquilinas, announced bigger rallies for Saturday and set its sights on a general strike. "The encampment will continue and will continue expanding to other neighbourhoods. We're aiming for a general strike," spokesperson Alicia del Rio said.
The crisis was triggered by last week's eviction of 87-year-old retiree Abascal. Outrage spread fast: young people pitched tents in Madrid's central square for almost a week, with other cities following — evoking the anti-austerity sit-ins of the 2008–12 financial crisis. In Spain, large numbers of young people still live with their parents past 30, unable to buy or rent.
Sánchez leads a fragile coalition of his Socialist Party and the far-left Sumar. After this defeat, Politico reports he is weighing whether to call a snap election. On the streets, the tenants' union's general-strike threat is already on the table. With both parliament and the streets turning against him, Sánchez faces a brutal autumn.