Spain faces more fury over housing after parliament rejects decree

Protesters said they would return to the streets across Spain and press on with their encampment in Madrid after a government bid to answer their complaints about a mounting housing crisis was rejected ‌by parliament on Friday.

Crowds gathered outside the assembly chanting "your profits, our misery" as lawmakers voted down the minority government's decree that had been drawn up to address mass anger over the eviction of an 87-year-old woman. The legislation had sought to ban evictions of vulnerable tenants until 2030, impose a two-year rent freeze extension for existing leases and introduce tighter rules for ‌short-term rentals.

'WE'RE AIMING FOR A GENERAL STRIKE' It failed after lawmakers from Catalan separatist party Junts - a sometime ally of the left-wing government - joined the opposition in voting it ‌down, arguing that the proposals would exacerbate matters by reducing housing supply.

The Tenants' Union which had driven the protests said it would press on with plans for more mass rallies for Saturday, piling pressure on the coalition. The decree failed with 178 votes against and 172 in favour. The eviction of pensioner Maricarmen Abascal last week triggered protests across Spain. Young people pitched tents in Madrid's central square and other cities ⁠for almost ​a week, bringing back memories of anti-austerity sit-ins ⁠sparked by the global financial crisis in 2008-12.

"The encampment will continue and will continue expanding to other neighbourhoods. We're aiming for a general strike," Tenants' Union spokesperson Alicia del Rio said. Abascal's eviction unleashed anger over ⁠the cost of housing, with many young people living with parents past 30 years of age.

Rents have doubled over the last decade with average prices reaching €1,176 ($1,323) a month, equivalent to 98.7% ​of the average salary for a young person, according to the Youth Council of Spain. "People have said ‘enough is enough’; this cannot go on. The housing problem must ⁠be resolved; structural measures must be taken, and this cannot continue," Abascal's lawyer, Beatriz Duro, said in an interview with Reuters on Thursday.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez's coalition government has 147 seats in the 350-seat chamber ⁠and ​relies on smaller parties, including Junts, to pass legislation. Junts parliamentary spokesperson Miriam Nogueras said the decrees would have the opposite effect of their intended aims. "Finding housing will become more difficult every day. Our responsibility is to provide certainty, not uncertainty."

She urged the government to work on a new decree. The opposition People's Party also voted ⁠against the measures.

"Housing doesn’t become more affordable through decrees; it becomes more affordable by building more homes. We’re not going to lie to you – it’s not going to be ⁠easy, and it’s not going to happen quickly," ⁠said PP lawmaker Juan Bravo. Before the vote failed, Emilio Anton, a protester camped in Sol, said earlier the protests would continue.

"I’m almost certain we’ll carry on like this until there’s a final agreement or until they kick us out," he said. ($1 = ‌0.8890 euros)