Spain Enacts Housing Reforms Amidst Strike and Political Uncertainty

The Spanish parliament has approved significant housing reforms aimed at curbing evictions and speculative real estate practices to improve housing affordability. This legislative action follows a nationwide general strike protesting the country's escalating housing crisis. The interim lower house of parliament ratified these measures on Thursday, though their longevity is contingent upon the results of a snap election scheduled for later in November. The conservative Popular Party, Spain's leading opposition, has declared its intention to repeal these reforms should it gain power, a scenario polls suggest is plausible.

Widespread protests against unaffordable housing erupted across Spain in September, galvanized by the televised eviction of 87-year-old Maria del Carmen Abascal, widely known as Maricarmen. This event sparked national outrage, leading to the formation of protest camps in major cities, including a prominent one in Madrid’s Puerta del Sol square. Maricarmen's subsequent death in October intensified public outcry, compelling Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez's minority government to expedite the presentation of two decrees. These decrees, which aimed to provide enhanced tenant protection against evictions and ensure the automatic renewal of rental contracts, were initially part of a broader legislative push that failed to pass parliament, prompting Sanchez to call an early general election originally slated for 2027.

The Popular Party and allied conservative factions opposed these measures, arguing they would adversely impact the housing market and advocating for increased construction as the solution. On Wednesday, hundreds of thousands of Spaniards participated in a 24-hour general strike, called by major unions to protest soaring rents and the high cost of living, after the initial decrees were blocked.

In response to the parliamentary deadlock, Sanchez introduced two new decrees, largely mirroring the rejected ones. These were presented to a smaller parliamentary council on Thursday, increasing the government's prospects of legislative success. The first decree, passed by a narrow 35–34 vote, extends eviction protections for tenants identified as financially or socially vulnerable by social services, provided no alternative accommodation is offered by regional authorities. A second measure, intended to curb real estate speculation by preventing companies involved in the property market from acquiring properties below 70 percent of their market value, was narrowly rejected with a 34-35 vote. The centre-right Basque party's decision to vote with the right-wing bloc on this specific measure, despite supporting the other decree, was attributed to concerns that it could lead property owners to withdraw units from the rental market, potentially reducing supply and driving up prices.