Overview

• Protests organized by tenants' associations and labor unions are taking place in over 40 cities, including Madrid and Barcelona, to address Spain's worsening housing crisis.
• Demonstrators are calling for forced rent reductions, repurposing of vacant homes, and stronger tenant protections to combat displacement and evictions.
• Rents in Spain have nearly doubled over the past decade, with Barcelona experiencing a 60% increase in just five years, while wages have failed to keep pace.
• Spain has one of the lowest public housing stocks in Europe, with less than 2% of housing available as public rentals, compared to an OECD average of 7%.
• Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez's government has introduced rent caps and proposed measures like banning foreign property ownership, but protesters argue these efforts are insufficient to address the crisis.