Spain announces snap elections amid housing crisis

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez has reported early general elections for November 29 — nine months ahead of schedule.

Brussels Signal writes about this.

He made the announcement during a speech at the Moncloa Palace on 5 October, after informing King Felipe VI. The King left for a state visit to Finland the same day. The decree dissolving parliament is due to be published in the Official Gazette on 6 October. From that date, the countdown to the vote will begin — 54 days according to Spanish electoral law.

Sanchez explained his decision by the failure of two emergency housing decrees, which were rejected by deputies in Congress on October 2. The documents contained a number of measures aimed at improving access to housing — from a ban on evictions until 2030 to regulating temporary rentals and renting individual rooms.

His ministers and the leadership of the Spanish Socialist Workersʼ Party (PSOE) had been urging him to hold elections since Friday, while the tenantsʼ movement continued to gather thousands of people in city squares.

The government approved these regulations three days before the vote, without having enough votes in parliament to support them, so they lasted barely a day. Now, socialist ministers want the new housing regulation to be approved by the Standing Committee of Deputies, a body that works after the dissolution of parliament. In it, the governmentʼs allies have 35 of the 69 seats.

Whatʼs happening in Spain

Spain is experiencing an acute housing crisis: average rents have almost doubled in the past 10 years, and about 26% of renters spend an average of 40% of their income on housing and utilities. The country has less than 2% of public rental housing, significantly lower than the EU average.

A new wave of protests was sparked by the eviction of 87-year-old Maria del Carmen Abascal from the apartment where she had lived for more than 70 years. The woman said she could not afford the 230% rent increase demanded by the investment fund that bought her apartment.

Thousands of people then took to the streets of Madrid and other cities to demand protection for tenants. Parliament rejected the governmentʼs proposed emergency measures to combat the crisis on October 2, and the following day tens of thousands of people protested again across the country.

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