Thousands camp in Madrid's Puerta del Sol demanding housing law as Spain's PM faces election-year pressure

From the Newshound archive · first published 30 September 2026 · last updated 1 October 2026.

María del Carmen Abascal, 87, was carried out of the Madrid home she had lived in for 70 years on a stretcher on September 23, sparking a wave of protests that has now engulfed Pedro Sánchez's government. Around a thousand demonstrators have spent the past week camped in Puerta del Sol, vowing to stay until real tenant protections are passed. Spanish lawmakers are set to vote on a package of emergency housing measures on Friday, and Sánchez needs smaller parties to back his minority coalition. Maricarmen has since returned home, but the protest camps are not moving.

Government-owned rental properties make up less than 2% of Spain's housing stock — well below the EU average of 8%.

Protest signs at Puerta del Sol read 'Right to a roof' and 'You could be the next Maricarmen', as Sánchez faces a national election next year.