Fresh protests to hit Spain after housing measures defeated
Protests are scheduled across Spain following the parliament's rejection of government measures intended to protect tenants from eviction. The political defeat poses a significant challenge to Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez's minority government.
Why it matters
The housing crisis and political instability in Spain reflect broader European economic tensions and the fragility of coalition governments.
Fresh protests over housing are due to take place in Madrid and other Spanish cities on Saturday (October 3, 2026), a day after parliament rejected two government measures to strengthen protection for tenants.
The government introduced the measures after nationwide protests following the eviction, on a stretcher, of 87-year-old Maricarmen Abascal from a Madrid apartment she had occupied for around seven decades.
The defeat was another political setback for Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez and has renewed questions over whether his minority government can survive until the next scheduled general election in 2027.
Catalan separatist party Junts — whose support was essential to approve the two decrees — voted against them, arguing they lacked rigour.
After the vote, the leader of the main opposition conservative Popular Party (PP), Alberto Nunez Feijoo, urged Sanchez to “call elections as soon as possible”.
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