Spain's housing crisis fuels protests over vulture funds and Airbnb rentals

In Madrid’s Puerta del Sol, dozens of protesters have erected tents to highlight Spain’s deepening housing crisis, arguing that investment “vulture” funds and platforms such as Airbnb are inflating rents and leaving homes empty. Participants such as 21-year-old graduate Pierina Nicuray and 19-year-old film-dubbing student Jorge Moreno point to cases like the eviction of 87-year-old Maricarmen Abascal, whose landlord’s rent hike led to her death, as evidence of profit-driven abuse.

Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez unveiled a package of emergency reforms aimed at curbing speculation, but the measures were voted down by Congress, leading him to call a snap election next month. Surveys by the Centre for Sociological Research reveal that a large majority of Spaniards favor higher taxes on owners of ten or more properties, restrictions on short-term tourist rentals, and even expropriation of vacant homes.

Economists note that only about 8 % of rental housing is owned by companies, suggesting that the primary driver is a supply shortfall estimated at roughly 750,000 homes, which could rise to one million by 2028. The crisis is compounded by stagnant wages, rising rental prices—up 84 % nationally over the past decade—and demographic pressures from new households and migrants.