Samantha Mythen
UP to 30,000 people have protested in Malaga against Spain’s housing crisis.
They were joined by hundreds of thousands of people around the country over the weekend demanding urgent changes to property laws.
Demonstrators in 40 cities, including Sevilla, Valencia and Palma, united under the slogan ‘Let’s End the Housing Business’.
They called for immediate action to tackle soaring rents, a lack of affordable housing, and the prioritisation of local needs over tourism-driven policies.
CREDIT: Samantha Mythen
The protests come as average rents in Spain have doubled over the past decade while property prices have surged by 44%, far outpacing wage growth.
A report from Spain’s central bank revealed that nearly 40% of families spend over 40% of their income on housing costs.
Meanwhile, public housing accounts for less than 2% of Spain’s total housing stock – well below the OECD average of 7%.
Activists called for measures such as forced rent reductions and increased social housing construction.
“In the centre of Malaga there are simply no locals any more,” Manuel Gomez told the Olive Press. “Only tourists and businesses that focus on them.”
The engineer, who moved there 10 years ago, added: “My first rental price was €200 for a room. Now the normal price is around €500-600, while my partner and I pay €850 between us.
“In the past five years, there’s been an increase of around 45% of the cost of living, and salaries simply haven’t matched.”
This has meant that most local families have been forced to move to the outskirts or, often, inland villages.
A spokesman for organisers, Malaga Para Vivir, Kiki Espana, said: “There are 34,466 people registered as seeking property in Malaga, while there are 7,496 tourist apartments with 32,132 beds available.
“How can this be sustainable?”
The march started in Plaza de la Merced – Picasso’s birthplace, where 80% of properties are tourist rentals – and ended at Parque de Huelin.
Protesters could be heard from miles away with hundreds of whistles and Brazilian batucada drums.
Young people are particularly affected by rising housing costs.
Mari Sanchez, a 26-year-old lawyer who shares an apartment with four others, explained: “I allocate 30 or 40% of my salary to rent.
“That doesn’t allow me to save. That doesn’t allow me to do anything. It doesn’t even allow me to buy a car.”
Similarly in Malaga, Elena Perez, a 22-year-old student working part-time while studying, told the Olive Press: “All of my friends are in the same position.”
The crisis is not limited to Malaga. In Madrid, more than 150,000 protesters marched through the city’s streets rattling keys and chanting slogans like ‘Get Airbnb out of our neighborhoods’. Margarita Aizpuru, a 65-year-old resident of Madrid’s Lavapies neighborhood, described how nearly 100 families in her building were told their rental contracts would not be renewed: “They’re kicking all of us out to make tourist flats.”
The demonstrations also spotlighted cases of imminent homelessness due to real estate speculation.
In Torremolinos, Yolanda Greta and Jimena Centurion are among 120 residents facing eviction after their building was auctioned off by Sareb – a bank part-owned by the state – due to unpaid loans.
*Some names have been changed to protect the identities of those speaking.
