Spain's coalition agrees to extend eviction ban to 2030 amid housing protests
The Spanish government reached an agreement to prohibit evictions until 2030 and introduce rent controls, while an 87-year-old woman evicted last week accepted an offer to return to her home.
Madrid – The coalition government of Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez announced a package of housing reforms that includes a ban on evictions until 2030 and a freeze on rent increases. The measures also propose extending lease contracts automatically until 2028 and restricting speculative investment funds in the housing market.
The announcement came as hundreds of protesters remained camped in a central Madrid square, demanding broader legal changes after the forced removal of 87-year-old Maricarmen Abascal from her apartment last week. Abascal’s lawyer said the company that owns her flat, Urbagestión, offered a preliminary agreement that would allow her to return, with payments equivalent to about €500 a month from her pension.
Health Minister Mónica García said the Socialists and junior partner Sumar had reached a deal on the new measures, while Housing Minister Isabel Rodríguez said the definition of speculative investment funds would be broadened to include firms that buy housing for profit.
"It is time to intervene in the speculative housing market and start striking a balance between ordinary citizens and vulture funds," García wrote on X.
The reforms will be split into two decrees for a parliamentary vote on Friday, with the automatic lease-rollover provision identified as the remaining hurdle by Social Affairs Minister Pablo Bustinduy. The Catalan pro-independence party Junts, whose support is needed, said it still seeks safeguards for small landlords.
"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," Junts parliamentary spokesperson Míriam Nogueras told RTVE.
Tenant groups criticized the two-decree approach and warned that protests will continue until all demands are met. The lawyer for Abascal, Beatriz Duro, said the case should prompt a collective response to the housing crisis.