Spain's Government Backs Sweeping Housing Reforms After Eviction of 87-Year-Old Ignites Nationwide Protests

Spain's coalition government has moved to intervene in the country's deepening housing crisis, approving a package of measures that could fundamentally reshape the rental market and halt forced removals for years to come. The decision, announced on Tuesday following a cabinet meeting, comes just days after the eviction of an 87-year-old woman from her Madrid apartment triggered an outpouring of public anger across the country.

The measures were outlined by Health Minister Mónica García, who said ministers had agreed on a potential moratorium on evictions that would run until 2030. The proposal represents one of the most aggressive interventions in Spain's housing market in decades and signals a sharp shift toward protecting tenants from displacement as affordability pressures mount in major cities.

Beyond the eviction ban, García said the government had agreed to roll over existing rental contracts until 2028, introduce tighter rules governing short-term and room-by-room rentals, and prohibit investment firms from purchasing residential property. The combination of policies is designed to curb speculation in a market that has increasingly drawn institutional investors seeking returns from housing.

"It is time to intervene in the speculative housing market and start striking a balance between ordinary citizens and vulture funds," García told reporters, using language that frames the reforms as a corrective to years of market-driven policy. She also credited the wave of demonstrations and encampments that followed the eviction, saying: "Thanks to the mobilisations and the encampments. Without you, this would not have been possible."

The catalyst for the government's action was the removal last week of Maricarmen Abascal, an 87-year-old woman who was forcibly taken from her home on a stretcher and subsequently hospitalised. The image of the frail pensioner being carried out of her apartment quickly became a symbol of a broader crisis, sparking protests in Madrid, Barcelona, Seville, Malaga and Cadiz. In Madrid's Puerta del Sol, demonstrators established an encampment that has since grown to include hundreds of participants.

Ahead of the government's announcement, Abascal's lawyer said she would be permitted to return to her home after reaching an agreement on Monday with the company that owns the property. Because she had been admitted to hospital, Abascal was unable to attend the meeting where the deal was struck and has not yet signed the agreement, leaving her immediate future still formally unresolved.

The new measures, however, are far from assured. The minority coalition, composed of the ruling Socialists and their junior partners in Sumar, lacks a majority in parliament. Under Spanish procedures, the government has 30 days from the publication of the decree to secure parliamentary approval, a timeline that will require delicate negotiation with opposition parties and regional allies.

Socialist Housing Minister Isabel Rodríguez was scheduled to provide further technical details on the package at a news conference later on Tuesday, a session expected to clarify how the eviction moratorium would be enforced and which categories of landlords would be affected by the ban on investment purchases.

The proposals have already drawn criticism from political opponents. Míriam Nogueras, spokeswoman for the pro-Catalan independence party Junts, said the agreement left "small landlords out in the cold." While acknowledging that evictions carried out by large funds and institutional investors must be stopped, she argued that grouping individual savers who own a single flat or commercial property with multinational investment vehicles was a serious error.

"We all agreed that evictions — where the property is owned by a fund, a vulture fund, run by someone managing millions of euros — obviously need to be stopped," Nogueras told Spanish public broadcaster RTVE. "Lumping together in this category those who have invested their savings in a flat, a restaurant or a property — putting them all in the same basket — is a mistake." Her comments suggest the government could face resistance from parties whose support it may need to convert the decree into lasting law.

The political stakes are considerable. Spain's housing shortage has become one of the most politically volatile issues in the country, with rents and purchase prices rising sharply in urban centres while wages have struggled to keep pace. The crisis has fuelled discontent among younger voters in particular, many of whom face the prospect of lifelong renting or relocation away from the cities where jobs are concentrated. The government's willingness to act reflects an awareness that housing discontent can translate directly into electoral consequences.

The measures also touch on a sensitive legal frontier. Spain's constitution protects property rights, and any blanket prohibition on evictions or restrictions on who may buy residential real estate could face challenges in the courts. Legal experts have noted that past attempts to regulate rental markets at the regional level have been overturned or weakened following appeals, meaning the government's proposals may ultimately be tested in constitutional proceedings.

For investors, the ban on property purchases by investment firms represents a significant shift in the rules governing Spanish real estate. Institutional buyers have become increasingly active in cities such as Madrid, Barcelona and Valencia, acquiring apartment blocks and converting individual units into rental stock. While such activity has been credited with improving housing quality in some cases, critics argue it has accelerated rent increases and reduced the availability of affordable homes for local residents.

The eviction of Abascal has also reinvigorated a long-standing debate about how Spain treats its elderly and vulnerable tenants. Housing advocacy groups have argued that cases involving pensioners on fixed incomes require special protections, since displacement often means leaving established communities and support networks at the most fragile stage of life. The government's decision to centre its package around a moratorium suggests that argument has now gained significant political traction.

Whether the reforms survive parliamentary scrutiny remains uncertain, and even if approved, their practical impact will depend on enforcement mechanisms that are yet to be detailed. Rodríguez's forthcoming news conference is expected to address some of those questions, but the broader trajectory of Spanish housing policy now appears to be entering a more interventionist phase — one driven as much by street protests as by legislative strategy.