Housing activists gathered outside the headquarters of Spain’s Popular Party (PP) in Madrid on Sunday to demand support for a government decree extending rental contracts by two years.
The protest, organized by the Tenants’ Union and the Madrid Regional Federation of Neighborhood Associations, drew approximately 500 people to Genova Street, where the PP’s national office is located.
Demonstrators carried signs reading “1860 families at risk of invisible eviction. This is not the market, this is expulsion” and “This house is not for sale. We are not leaving. House 47. Recover this home. No to vulture funds.”
According to Gonzalo Álvarez, spokesperson for the Tenants’ Union, the group came to the PP headquarters to make lawmakers understand that voting against the measure would harm those most in demand.
“We are here at the PP headquarters to make them observe that they will vote against a measure that clearly benefits the people who need it most — us, the tenants,” Álvarez said.
The decree, approved by the Council of Ministers on March 22 and published in the Official State Gazette on March 20, extends rental contracts set to expire before 2028 and limits annual rent increases.
However, as a royal decree-law, it must be ratified by Congress within 30 days to remain in effect. The final vote is scheduled for Tuesday, April 28.
Organizers warned that the PP, along with Vox and Junts, plans to vote against the extension, which could leave over a million rental contracts vulnerable to termination.
Eurostat data from 2024 shows that 42.2% of market-rate renters in Spain were already at risk of poverty and social exclusion.
Activists accused the PP of siding with landlords, describing them as “a guild of misers” who prioritize speculation over housing rights.
Quique Villalobos, Urbanism and Housing representative for the Madrid Regional Federation of Neighborhood Associations, criticized the party’s stance, saying it demonstrates an “antisocial use of housing” by favoring property owners over tenants.
The protest coincided with a broader campaign in which tenants’ unions have sent over 50,000 emails to PP and Junts deputies urging them to support the extension.
Supporters argue the measure is essential to prevent displacement amid rising housing costs, while opponents claim it discourages investment in the rental market.
