Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez has called on political parties in parliament to support urgent measures to address Spain’s growing housing crisis, highlighting the case of an 87-year-old Madrid woman whose eviction sparked several days of protests.
Speaking at the 2026 Premios Vanguardia awards, Sanchez said the government would submit an emergency housing package to the Council of Ministers through a royal decree-law. He said protecting elderly tenants from losing their homes should be viewed as a humanitarian responsibility rather than a political or ideological issue.
The prime minister referred to the woman, who had lived in the same Madrid home for around 71 years and continued paying rent and household bills. Her monthly pension is about €1,400, while her rent and bills had totaled roughly €500 a month.
The property was purchased by a company in 2018, which later sought to raise her monthly rent to €2,650. During negotiations, the company reduced the demand to €1,650, but the woman was eventually evicted by police last Wednesday despite protests outside the property.
Around 600 people were still camping at Madrid’s Puerta del Sol on Monday in response to the eviction.
The Madrid Tenants’ Union has called for stronger tenant protections, including indefinite rental agreements, limits on rent increases and greater safeguards against evictions.
Sanchez said the proposed housing package had been developed through discussions with political parties and urged lawmakers to make a final effort to approve it in Congress. The government is seeking a new agreement after earlier housing legislation failed to pass parliament in July.
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