Spain's government was due to bring a housing decree to the Council of Ministers on Tuesday 29 September, after the eviction of an 87-year-old woman, known as Maricarmen, from the home she had lived in for 71 years set off nationwide protests. Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, a Socialist, has promised measures to end what he called "unjust evictions".
According to reporting from Madrid, the decree has been in preparation since July and has two main parts. The first would speed up construction of new homes; the shortfall is estimated at 700,000. The second would restrain real estate companies and cap rent increases. The building measures are broadly agreed. The second part, though approved by Sánchez's allies on the left, is contested by Basque and Catalan nationalist allies, who do not want to alarm landlords and the property sector. It is therefore unclear whether the text can satisfy everyone.
The case has struck a nerve. Maricarmen was removed from her flat on a stretcher. Her lawyer said on Monday that she had reached an agreement with the owner of the property, and earlier reports said she had regained her home. Even so, protests have continued. Demonstrations were held in more than 35 cities. On Saturday, tens of thousands marched in Madrid, after which a camp was set up in the Puerta del Sol, the central square that was also the centre of the 2011 "15M" protest movement. On Monday, thousands gathered outside the congress centre in Barcelona where Sánchez was present.
Protesters describe fears that reach well beyond one case. Fabián Cagiquillos, a designer and father in his forties, pays 800 euros a month for a flat in Barcelona. His lease ends in December, and he says the landlord's heirs have given five different reasons for not renewing it. He fears the rent would rise to 1,300 euros. "Workers are killing themselves just to pay rent," he said.
Tenant unions are pressing for more than a cap on rents. In an opinion piece in El País, a tenants' union voice said Maricarmen's ordeal began seven years before the eviction, with the first written notice threatening her tenancy. The group demands what it calls a "Maricarmen decree": automatic renewal of rental contracts and evictions only for justified reasons. It warns it will reject a decree that lacks open-ended contracts. The piece also criticises both the political right and a government that calls itself progressive.
Adding to the controversy, El País reported that the flat where the protests began was rented by a company, Planifica, to the regional government of Madrid led by Isabel Díaz Ayuso, at what the paper says was below the local average.
Why this matters: rising rents and a shortage of homes affect many Spanish households, and the decree will test whether Sánchez's coalition and its partners can agree on rules acceptable to tenants and property owners alike.