Spain approves new housing decree restructuring evictions
- Spain’s Council of Ministers approved a sweeping new housing decree on September 29, 2026, known publicly as the “decreto Maricarmen,” introducing an extraordinary administrative intervention where regional governments...
- Published in the Official State Gazette (BOE) on September 30, 2026, and entering into force on October 1, the legislation combines a freeze on evictions for vulnerable populations...
- The legislative push follows intense public mobilization sparked by the eviction of Maricarmen Abascal, an 87-year-old woman with a recognized disability who was removed from her Madrid apartment...
Spain’s Council of Ministers approved a sweeping new housing decree on September 29, 2026, known publicly as the “decreto Maricarmen,” introducing an extraordinary administrative intervention where regional governments must either provide alternative housing or cover rental debts within two months, expansion.com reported. The Government approved two royal decree-laws in the Council of Ministers of September 29, 2026, and on September 30 the first one was published, Real Decreto-ley 26/2026, entering into force on October 1.
Real Decreto-ley 26/2026 Restructures Eviction Protections and Rents
Published in the Official State Gazette (BOE) on September 30, 2026, and entering into force on October 1, the legislation combines a freeze on evictions for vulnerable populations until 2030, a maximum two-year lease extension for agreements expiring before 2029, and a 2% rent increase cap through 2027, ayuda-social.es reported. The new housing decree, known as «decreto Maricarmen», is already in the BOE, as reported on October 1, 2026.
The regulatory package also establishes strict limits on short-term seasonal and room rentals, alongside a temporary curb preventing institutional funds from purchasing residential properties below 70% of market value until 2028.
Catalyst Eviction of Maricarmen Abascal Accelerates Reform
The legislative push follows intense public mobilization sparked by the eviction of Maricarmen Abascal, an 87-year-old woman with a recognized disability who was removed from her Madrid apartment of approximately 70 years on September 23, 2026, after an old-rent contract expired, ayuda-social.es reported. El Sindicato de Inquilinas called for a camp-out at the Puerta del Sol, where around 600 people awoke on Monday, October 28, intending to stay until they received a response from the Government.
Following demonstrations that drew hundreds of protesters to the Puerta del Sol, the Ministry of Housing incorporated her case into the preamble of the royal decree to ensure no other tenant faces identical displacement, setting the stage for parliamentary votes scheduled for October 2, 2026, rtve.es reported. In its preamble, the Government acknowledges that the competent administrations to offer a housing alternative are making an evident abandonment of their functions
. Housing Minister Isabel Rodríguez announced in a TVE interview on Thursday: we are proposing a structural change.
Under the slogan homes are for living,
it aims to prevent artificial price hikes and the expulsion of lifelong residents from entire neighborhoods.
Stabilization of Rental Contracts and New Regulations
Rental contract stabilization does not speak of indefinite
contracts, as demanded by the Madrid Tenants’ Union, which initiated the protests following the eviction of Maricarmen. The Urban Leases Act of 1994 will be modified to force the landlord to justify a real and accreditable
cause for that contract and, if there is none, it will become a habitual residence rental.
Solidarity at Credit Strains Small Landowners
Legal analysts note that if regional authorities fail to provide housing within the mandatory two-month window under the new extraordinary novation mechanism, the administration is automatically subrogated into the tenant’s debt position while the contract remains active, expansion.com reported. If the autonomous community does not act within those two months, the new article 22.6 of the Civil Prosecution Law provides that it will automatically be subrogated to the debtor position of the tenant, there will be no eviction, and the contract will remain in force until its expiration while the vulnerability lasts. On paper, changing the debtor seems like a guarantee.
Because the decree establishes no definitive payment schedule for the state or autonomous communities once the two-month period lapses, landlords are left waiting without fixed compensation or clear default interest, shifting public assistance costs directly onto private property owners. The solution chosen consists of the fact that if the Administration fails again, a private individual bears the cost. Social function allows property to be limited, and not a little: the Constitutional Court has endorsed suspensions of launches.
Congressional Convalidation Battles Split Parliament
The executive branch split the housing package into two separate decrees—holding back the automatic lease renewal measure for a secondary text—to prevent total legislative failure during upcoming votes by allied parties including PNV, Junts, ERC, Bildu, Podemos, and Sumar, rtve.es reported.
The Congress of Deputies faces a strict 30-day window to debate, amend, or reject the measures, with legal experts proposing four critical adjustments during parliamentary processing: setting a concrete payment timeline with automatic interest, instituting mandatory 12-month judicial vulnerability reviews, permitting landlords to resume evictions upon public default, and clarifying that the decree does not automatically reopen already-finalized judicial contracts, expansion.com reported.