Overview
- The Council of Ministers approved two urgent real‑decrees on Tuesday that bundle an eviction moratorium through 2030, automatic renewal of some rental contracts, a two‑year extraordinary extension for leases expiring before 2029 and temporary restrictions on purchases by large investment funds.
- Mass protests and encampments in Madrid's Puerta del Sol and Barcelona's Plaça Catalunya, sparked by the judicial eviction of 87‑year‑old Maricarmen Abascal, helped push the government to act and the woman's representatives later reached a deal with the property owner to allow her to return home.
- The government has declined to order the police to clear the protests and says the street mobilization strengthens its case to win parliamentary convalidation of the decrees, but support in Congress is uncertain and a vote is scheduled for Friday.
- Madrid’s municipal Plan Reside reports a roughly 40–42% fall in tourist flats and a halving of complaints since its launch, a result the city credits to tighter inspections and sanctions while opponents say the plan can enable building conversions and displacement.
- Key legal details remain unpublished, critics warn the temporary ban on so‑called 'fondos buitre' could sweep in small owners, and analysts say the decrees are a short‑term political response that will not resolve Spain’s deeper housing shortage caused by years of underbuilding.