Protesters gathered outside the Palau de Congressos in Barcelona to demand stronger measures to tackle Spain’s housing crisis, as anger over evictions, rising rents and a shortage of affordable homes spreads across the country.
The demonstration took place during a visit by Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, who was speaking at the congress centre. Police estimated that about 2,000 people attended, while organisers put the turnout at around 20,000.
Demonstrators called for greater protection for tenants, measures to prevent evictions and changes to rental rules. The Barcelona protest formed part of a wider wave of mobilisation that has spread to cities across Spain in recent days.
The protests were intensified by the eviction of 87-year-old María del Carmen Abascal, widely known as Maricarmen, from her Madrid home on September 23. She had lived in the Retiro neighbourhood apartment for about 70 years before police removed her following a dispute over a sharp increase in rent.
According to Spain’s Tenants’ Union, the rent on the apartment had risen from about €500 to €2,650 a month after a change in ownership, before being reduced to €1,650. Maricarmen, who receives a pension of around €1,350, was unable to meet the increased cost. She was later taken to hospital after the eviction.
Her case quickly became a symbol of Spain’s broader housing problems. Tens of thousands of people subsequently marched through Madrid, while protesters set up a tent camp at Puerta del Sol and demanded stronger tenant protections, including an end to evictions without alternative accommodation.
The pressure comes as housing costs continue to rise. Spain’s National Statistics Institute recorded a 12.2% year-on-year increase in house prices in the second quarter of 2026, while advertised rents also continued climbing. In 2024, more than a quarter of market-rate tenants were spending over 40% of their disposable income on housing costs.
Sánchez has pledged government action, saying housing is a matter that requires urgent attention and calling for greater political consensus. His government has been working on a housing decree containing measures aimed at protecting tenants and increasing access to affordable housing, although some proposals remain contested within the governing coalition and among opposition parties.
The Barcelona demonstration therefore reflects a growing national debate over whether Spain can provide secure and affordable housing as rents and property prices rise. For protesters, Maricarmen’s eviction has become more than an individual case — it has come to represent the wider insecurity faced by tenants and the demand for concrete government action.
