Hundreds of thousands of Spaniards marched on April 5 in 40 cities to protest against rising rent, unavailable housing and lack of government events. Demonstrators claim that the housing market has become such a distortion that even people with full -time jobs cannot afford to rent or buy, especially in large cities such as Madrid and Barcelona.
How bad is the housing crisis?
The average rent in Spain has almost doubled in the last decade – from € 7.2 per square meter in 2014 to 13 euros in 2023. 44%of house prices increased according to the same period, according to the property website. Meanwhile, the salaries lagged far behind. It is almost impossible for young people to live independently. Many of them eventually share cramped apartments or stay well with their parents.
What supports the crisis?
Lack of public housing: Only 2% of the Spanish Housing Fund is a public rent compared to the OECD average 7%. On the other hand, countries such as France (14%), the Netherlands (34%) and the UK (16%) have many more public housing options.
Tourism boom: Spain in 2024 welcomed a record 94 million tourists. Many landlords now prefer renting tourists through platforms such as Airbnb, where profits are higher than from long -term tenants.
Foreign Investments: Large investment companies and hedge funds buy whole buildings, especially in large cities, and convert them into tourist rental or short -term leases.
Lack of housing offer: The country builds only about 120,000 new houses per year – less than 500,000 houses needed by the Spanish bank. The construction levels are still significantly below the level before 2008.
How are people affected?
People like Mari Sánchez, a 26 -year -old lawyer, claim to spend up to 40% of their salary for rent, only for sharing the apartment. Others, as well as 65 -year -old Margarita Aizpur, are evicted when the landlord moves towards a more profitable tourist lease. Pressing is no longer limited to urban centers – spreading everywhere.
What did the government do?
The Spanish Central-Leir government introduced mechanisms of rent control in selected regions such as Barcelona, but experts claim that it has not changed the measure significantly. Activists and trade unions say that more aggressive reforms are needed, for example:
- Expanding public housing
- Tightening of short -term lease regulations
- Motivation of landlords to offer long -term leases
Why is it politically sensitive?
Protests pass through party lines. Activists sang “no matter who follows, we must defend the rights to housing”, signal frustrations from all levels of government. Housing Minister Isabel Rodríguez acknowledged the crisis and stated that houses should be for “live and not for speculation”.
(With AP, Reuters inputs)
(Tagstotranslate) Spaniards protesting
