Spain’s parliament rejected two emergency housing decrees on Friday, October 2, 2026, dealing a major blow to Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez’s administration as it struggles to address a worsening affordability crisis. The legislative defeat occurred despite mounting pressure from nationwide protests and a high-profile eviction that has galvanized the country’s tenant rights movement.
The first decree, which focused on immediate housing protections, was defeated in a 178-172 vote. A second, more expansive decree aimed at implementing indefinite rental contracts and tighter regulations failed by a wider margin of 184-166. The rejection was secured when Junts per Catalunya joined the conservative People’s Party (PP) and the far-right Vox to block the measures.
The failed legislation included several aggressive measures designed to curb rising living costs. Key provisions would have banned the eviction of vulnerable tenants until 2030 and imposed a mandatory two-year rent freeze for all existing leases.
The political gridlock in the Congress of Deputies stands in sharp contrast to the atmosphere on the streets. Protests intensified following the eviction of Maricarmen Abascal, an 87-year-old disabled pensioner who was removed from her Madrid home of 70 years on a stretcher. Her case became the catalyst for a broader movement. Approximately 100 tents remain pitched in Madrid’s Puerta del Sol square, where demonstrators have established a semi-permanent encampment.
Following the parliamentary vote, Alicia del Rio, a spokesperson for the Tenants’ Union, stated that the organization is now aiming to organize a general strike to demand housing reform. The rejection of the government’s flagship housing policy has triggered significant political instability.
Meanwhile, the administration maintains that the measures were necessary to prevent a humanitarian crisis in the housing market, where rental prices have continued to outpace wage growth across the country’s major urban centers.
