Spanish PM Sánchez loses key housing crisis vote after eviction of woman, 87
The Sindicato de Inquilinas announced during the legislative statement that it was abandoning its protest structure in central Madrid. It said it wanted to "take the conflict to each the neighbourhoods, residential blocks and homes of Madrid, wherever determination are rental increases, expulsions and abuses each day, and crook the vigor of the past fewer days into a imperishable organisation". Protesters also called for a broad offensive against the housing crisis.
The left‑wing coalition government responded to public anger by hastily drafting two decree‑laws aimed at calming the demonstrations.
The first decree proposed suspending evictions of vulnerable tenants until 2030, imposing a two‑year extension on leases set to expire before 2028, raising taxes on tourist apartments, and regulating purchases of residential property by entities the government labels "vulture funds".
The second decree proved more contentious because it included automatic renewal of rental contracts, a demand long advocated by left‑wing groups and the Sindicato de Inquilinas.
The People's Party (PP) and far‑right Vox had already declared they would oppose the measures, leaving the government reliant on support from smaller nationalist parties in Catalonia and the Basque Country.
On the eve of the parliamentary vote, the centre‑right, pro‑independence Together for Catalonia (JxCat) signaled its backing for the decrees, effectively dooming them to failure.
Friday’s debate grew heated, with supporters and opponents clashing in the chamber.
Sánchez urged lawmakers, saying, "I don't inquire you, I beg you to beryllium brave and consistent," moments before the two votes took place. "Because they are not conscionable ambitious measures, they are necessary". He added, appealing to legislators to "enactment bid and humanity into [the housing] market, due to the fact that if we don't, it volition bring down our society".
Pablo Bustinduy, Social Affairs minister from the Sumar alliance and junior partner in the governing coalition, framed the issue in dramatic terms. He stated, "Today is astur defending an planetary oligarchy which is extracting the rent from salaries earned with the effort of moving classes of this state successful bid to stock it retired with dividends and they don't adjacent wage taxes in Spain," he said. He continued, "Voting against these decrees contiguous means defending the interests of this oligarchy and turning your backmost connected your ain people."
Miriam Nogueras of JxCat criticized the decrees as hastily drafted and lacking rigor. She warned, "the decrees will let [vulture] funds to support buying, support speculating and evictions to support happening… these 2 decrees would provoke the other effect of what they purpose to achieve."
Opponents argued that state intervention would scare landlords, reducing rental supply and driving prices higher.
Juan Bravo of the PP summed up the critique, declaring, "housing doesn't get cheaper with decrees, it gets cheaper with much homes".