Protests for housing in Spain: all the cities, dates, and times of the protests

According to the data available as of October 2, 2026, there are three key recent references in housing matters linked to royal decree-laws that have passed or are passing through the Congress. Their parliamentary status varies depending on the case: one has already been ratified and is being processed as a bill, another housing decree failed in the ratification vote, and the two most recent decrees are, precisely today, pending the Plenary's decision on whether to ratify or repeal them.

1. Royal decree-laws on housing currently before the Plenary

The two latest housing decrees approved by the Council of Ministers are:

• The Royal Decree-law 26/2026, of September 29, on urgent measures for the protection of the social function of housing and the expansion of affordable housing supply, published in the BOE on September 30 (text in BOE).
• The Royal Decree-law 27/2026, of September 29, on urgent measures to strengthen the stability of rental contracts for primary residences, published in the BOE on October 1 (text in BOE).

Both have already come into effect following their publication, but have not yet been “approved” (ratified) by the Congress. The Congress and various parliamentary reports explain that:

• An extraordinary plenary session has been convened for today, October 2, 2026, whose sole agenda item is the ratification or repeal of these two royal decree-laws.
• Each will be voted on separately, and a simple majority (more yes than no votes) is enough for ratification; if not reached, it is automatically repealed.
• Voting balances are very tight, and the decision depends on the final position of PNV, Junts, and Coalición Canaria, according to summaries such as those from Demócrata.

Therefore, as of the reference date, the parliamentary processing status of these two decrees is:

• Provisionally in force (already published in the BOE and applied).
• Pending ratification in the Congress at today's extraordinary plenary session.
• Still undecided on whether they will be transformed into bills for subsequent ordinary processing.

2. Housing decree on evictions of vulnerable groups (RDL 1/2024)

The other major recent housing reference is the Royal Decree-law 1/2024, of May 14, which extends the suspension of evictions on primary residences to protect vulnerable groups. Its situation is different:

• It was ratified by the Plenary of the Congress, according to a press release from the Chamber itself (see note).
• The Congress also agreed to process it as a bill, which opens a full course with amendments.
• The resulting bill (file 121/000024) is under consideration in committee, with the deadline for submitting amendments currently extended until October 7, 2026.

In parliamentary terms, this housing decree is no longer in the “ratification” phase but in an ordinary processing phase as a bill in which groups can modify the initial text through amendments and, subsequently, through the rapporteurship, the committee, and, if applicable, the Senate.

3. Other immediate precedents

It is also worth mentioning the Royal Decree-law 8/2026, on rental measures linked to the Iran war (identifier 130/000039 in the Congress). In this case:

• The Plenary of the Congress rejected ratification on April 28, 2026 (166 votes in favor, 177 against, and 5 abstentions), so the initiative was concluded.
• Its rejection text was published afterward, definitively closing the processing.

This precedent explains the Government's and its partners' caution when negotiating the new housing decrees: a royal decree-law can be in force for a few weeks and yet later fall in the Congress if it does not gather the necessary majority in the ratification vote.

In summary, today three situations coexist: (1) the two latest housing decrees (RDL 26/2026 and 27/2026) are in force but pending ratification in an extraordinary plenary; (2) the 2024 decree on evictions was already ratified and is being processed as a bill in committee; and (3) a previous decree on rentals (RDL 8/2026) was rejected and its processing is concluded.

The Tenants' Union (also known as the Tenants' Syndicate or, in Catalonia, Sindicat de Llogateres) is a tenants' organization that functions de facto as a “rental union,” although legally it is usually structured as an association. Its central objective is to collectively defend people who rent against landlords, real estate companies, and large holders, combining advice, negotiation, and social mobilization.

Main competencies and functions

It does not have “competencies” in the legal-public sense (it is neither an administration nor a classic labor union), but it does have a fairly defined field of action, which can be summarized as follows:

• Defense against rental abuses: it handles cases of disproportionate rent increases, contract terminations, eviction threats or executions, expenses considered undue, or abusive clauses. According to its own materials and coverage by media such as Demócrata or elDiario.es, many members turn to the union when facing loss of housing despite being up to date on payments.
• Advice and collective organization: it offers technical and legal guidance, but its distinctive feature is organizing tenants by buildings, neighborhoods, or against the same landlord. The emphasis is on problems not being handled in isolation but with mutual support and a common strategy.
• Collective negotiation: it uses the group's strength to negotiate with funds, management companies like Alquiler Seguro, or landlords controlling large portfolios, seeking to keep tenants in their homes and stop rent hikes or changes of use (for example, towards coliving or tourist rentals).
• Legal action and advocacy: it promotes collective lawsuits and appeals and pressures for regulatory changes. An example is the bill registered in Congress to apply the Housing Law to seasonal and room rentals, whose text was drafted by the Tenants' Union of Madrid and the Sindicat de Llogateres of Catalonia and which proposes, among other things, limiting the duration of these contracts and equating their guarantees to those of regular rentals.
• Social mobilization and political pressure: it calls demonstrations, camps, pot-banging protests, and specific campaigns (such as the so-called “Maricarmen decree”) to influence the Government's and parliamentary groups' agenda on rentals and evictions.

Organizational structure

The Tenants' Union was founded in 2017 in Madrid, alongside the creation of the Sindicat de Llogateres in Barcelona, in a context of sharp rental price increases. There is no single centralized national organization, but territorial unions that act autonomously and coordinate when they consider it useful:

• In Madrid, according to Demócrata, it operates with an annual assembly of members, bimonthly plenaries, a coordination group, working commissions (union action, organization, communication, etc.), and territorial sections or linked to specific landlords, which manage specific conflicts in buildings or areas.
• The leadership is collegiate and expressed through several spokespersons (for example, Valeria Racu, Alicia del Río, or Carme Arcarazo have been spokespeople at different times), without a single figure comparable to a classic general secretary.
• Since 2025, various local unions have grouped into the Confederation of Tenants' Unions, a national coordination space that promotes joint campaigns (such as the rent strike against Alquiler Seguro) and extends local conflicts to the whole country.

Role in social mobilizations

In less than a decade, the Tenants' Union has become one of the central actors in the housing rights movement in Spain, with a prominent role in several episodes:

• Conflicts with large holders and funds: it has led collective negotiations with funds like Blackstone and rental management companies, achieving in some cases to avoid strong rent increases or changes of use and keep dozens of families in their homes.
• Mobilizations against emblematic evictions: its intervention in cases like Maricarmen, an 87-year-old tenant evicted in Madrid, has served to turn an individual conflict into a nationwide protest, with demonstrations in Madrid and a dozen cities, camps at Puerta del Sol, and pressure campaigns under the slogan “Not one more Maricarmen.”
• Legislative campaigns and the “Maricarmen decree”: together with the Confederation, it has presented concrete proposals to reform the Urban Leases Law: freezing certain rents, automatic or indefinite contract renewals while the tenant complies, limits on seasonal and room contracts, or greater guarantees against eviction. These demands have been articulated in documents like the “Maricarmen decree” and intense pressure on the Government and Parliament.
• Strikes and national coordination: it has promoted the first national rent strike focused on the company Alquiler Seguro and participates in international spaces like the counter-summit “El Barrio,” which brings together tenant organizations from other European countries and beyond.

Overall, its real “competencies” are those given by its capacity for organization and pressure: turning individual rental problems into collective conflicts, generating public narrative about the housing crisis, and transferring those demands to the legislative arena.

In Spain, the calling and organization of a general strike is governed by a mixed framework: the Constitution (which recognizes the right), pre-constitutional norms still in force where they do not conflict with it, and a well-established jurisprudence from the Constitutional Court and the Supreme Court that has clarified the requirements.

1. Basic legal framework

• Spanish Constitution: recognizes workers' right to strike for the defense of their interests and refers to a future organic law for its regulation. Although that specific organic law has not been approved, the right has fundamental rank and enjoys special protection.
• Royal Decree-law 17/1977, of March 4, on labor relations: continues to apply regarding strikes but reinterpreted and refined by constitutional jurisprudence. Its preamble and articles include elements such as the need for prior notice, the legality/illegality of the strike, the strike committee, and effects on the labor relationship.
• Organic Law 11/1985, on Trade Union Freedom: regulates the actions of unions, which are the typical actors in calling general strikes.
• Regulations and doctrine on essential services: various royal decrees guarantee minimum services in sectors such as private security or transport, and Constitutional Court rulings (for example, those that cite and annul provisions attributing minimum setting to management bodies) delimit who can set them and under what proportionality criteria.
• Social jurisdiction (Law 36/2011): social courts and tribunals assess the legality of the strike, its effects, and possible liabilities.

2. Who can call a general strike

• Unions: the practical rule is that a general strike of state or broad scope is called by trade union organizations, especially the most representative ones, exercising trade union freedom.
• Unitary worker representatives: at the company or workplace level, their representative bodies (works councils, staff delegates) can call strikes.
• Workers in assembly: regulations and doctrine admit that, in certain cases and with adequate guarantees, the workers' assembly itself may agree to call a strike.

In all cases, the calling agreement must be adopted according to the internal rules of each union or representative body, respecting democratic and majority procedures.

3. Purpose and content of the call

To be lawful, the general strike must meet certain material features:

• Labor or professional purpose: although a general strike usually has a broad political dimension (rejection of a legal reform, economic policy, etc.), the Constitutional Court requires a connection with workers' professional interests (employment, wages, working conditions, social protection system).
• Collective and temporary character: it must be a collective and concerted cessation of work for a determined or determinable period.

The calling agreement and prior notice must clearly specify:

• The start date and, if applicable, the expected duration or indefinite character.
• The functional scope (affected sectors) and territorial scope (province, community, State).
• The reasons and objectives of the strike.
• The designation of the strike committee.

4. Prior notice and mandatory communications

Strike regulations impose the obligation to give prior notice of the strike with a reasonable minimum advance, longer when it concerns public services or recognized and urgent necessity. This prior notice must always be in writing and meet two basic requirements:

• Recipients: communicated to the affected employers or employer organizations and to the competent labor or governmental authority (usually the Government Delegation/Subdelegation or autonomous authority, depending on the scope).
• Sufficient time: to allow employer organization, setting of minimum services in essential services, and possible negotiation to avoid conflict.

5. Strike committee and organization

Royal Decree-law 17/1977 recognizes the figure of the strike committee as the representative body of workers in conflict. Its main functions include:

• Negotiating with the company, employer organizations, or authorities to seek a solution to the conflict.
• Ensuring respect for necessary security and maintenance services to avoid serious damage to facilities or property.
• Channeling information to workers, without coercing those who do not wish to support the strike.

6. Essential services and minimum services

When the strike affects essential services for the community (health, security, transport, communications, etc.), the Government or competent authority may issue specific rules (royal decrees, orders) to guarantee a minimum level of service. The Constitutional Court has established that:

• The setting of minimum services corresponds to a government authority, not the employer.
• Minimums must be proportional and justified, so as to balance the right to strike with other fundamental rights of citizens.

7. Illegal or abusive strike and liabilities

Regulations and jurisprudence consider illegal or abusive, among others, strikes that:

• Are called for exclusively political purposes, without sufficient connection to labor interests.
• Are solidarity strikes without reasonable relation to a conflict affecting the workers supporting it.
• Seriously violate prior notice and communication requirements.
• Are accompanied by workplace occupations, violence, serious coercion, or obstruction of the right to work of those who do not join.

In such cases, the callers and participants may face:

• Labor sanctions (including disciplinary dismissal, subject to judicial assessment).
• Civil liability for damages if judicially declared.
• Possible criminal liability in cases of coercion or damage.

The final classification of a general strike as lawful, illegal, or abusive and the specific consequences always correspond to social jurisdiction courts and, in its constitutional dimension, to the Constitutional Court.