Nowhere To Call Home: Tens of Thousands Protest In Spain Over Housing Crisis

Tens of thousands of people marched across Spain over the weekend to protest soaring rents and a deepening shortage of affordable homes, as the country grapples with the effects of tourism-driven demand and stagnant wages, the Guardian reported.

On Saturday, demonstrations erupted in about 40 cities, including the capital, Madrid, and tourist hubs such as Barcelona and Seville. Organizers estimated that more than 150,000 demonstrators joined the protests in central Madrid.

Protesters rattled keychains – now a symbol of housing discontent – and chanted slogans like “Stop the housing racket,” and “Landlords are guilty, the government is responsible.”

Many called for stronger rent controls, including indefinite leases, a 50-percent reduction in rents, and an end to apartment conversions for tourists.

The unrest comes as Spain has experienced a 44-percent increase in house prices and a doubling of rents over the past decade, while wages have failed to keep pace.

In tourist-heavy regions like the Balearic Islands, average rents have risen by 40 percent in five years, now surpassing the average monthly salary of hospitality workers. In Barcelona, rents have increased by 70 percent since 2015, while salaries have risen only 17.5 percent.

A Spanish youth council study found that 85 percent of people under 30 still live with their parents because they are unable to afford independent housing.

The supply of rental housing has halved since the Covid-19 pandemic, and official data shows only about 120,000 new homes are built each year – just one-sixth of pre-2008 levels – worsening the already acute housing shortage.

The boom in tourism has intensified the crisis: Spain welcomed a record 94 million tourists in 2024, making it the second most-visited country in the world, Reuters wrote.

Major cities such as Madrid and Barcelona have reported tens of thousands of unlicensed tourist apartments, while others are vowing to curb short-term rentals. In Barcelona, the city council says it will not renew any of the 10,000 existing tourist apartment licenses after 2028.

Amid the crisis, representatives of tenants’ unions are calling for rent strikes.

Jaime Palomera of the Barcelona Urban Research Institute told the Guardian that the housing business is “rigged in favor of anyone with assets while tax incentives encourage them to acquire more and more property … (while property speculation) is sucking money out of the middle class.”