Police fire tear gas as housing protests sweep Spain (VIDEOS)

Tens of thousands of people have demonstrated across Spain to demand affordable rent and stronger protections for tenants amid a deepening housing crisis.

Average rent has almost doubled over the past decade, according to property website Idealista. On Friday, parliament narrowly rejected two emergency housing decrees proposed by Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez’s government.

Around 70,000 people marched through the streets of Madrid on Saturday to denounce the decision, according to the authorities, while organizers put the figure at half a million. Similar demonstrations took place across around 50 Spanish cities.

In the eastern city of Valencia, demonstrators clashed with police, who fired rubber bullets and tear gas to disperse the crowds. Around 30 protesters breached the security perimeter around the City of Arts and Sciences, a landmark cultural complex, before officers removed them.

Protesters are demanding a 50% reduction in rent, open-ended rental contracts, and the expropriation of homes from investment firms they describe as “vulture funds.” Tenants’ Union spokesperson Valeria Racu said a general strike would be called following talks with labor unions.

“There is an irreparable disconnect between what the people want and what the parties vote for,” the Tenants’ Union, which coordinates the demonstrations, said in a statement.

The protests, which began last month, were sparked by the eviction of Maricarmen Abascal, 87, from the Madrid flat where she had lived for around seven decades. She was carried out on a stretcher after being unable to afford a sharp rent increase. Her landlord subsequently agreed to let her return at a lower rent, but the wider demonstrations continued.

In response to the crisis, Sanchez proposed two decrees aimed at protecting tenants. The first included suspending evictions of vulnerable renters, increasing taxes on tourist apartments, and restricting residential purchases by investment funds, while the second provided for the automatic renewal of rental contracts. The measures require parliamentary approval.

Together for Catalonia joined the conservative People’s Party (PP) and Vox in opposing the legislation. Critics argued that the measures would discourage owners from renting out properties, worsening shortages and pushing prices higher.

“Housing doesn’t get cheaper with decrees, it gets cheaper with more homes,” Juan Bravo, a PP member of parliament, said.

The outcome has increased pressure on Sanchez to call an early election. Spanish media reported that he could bring the vote forward to November rather than next summer. His office declined to comment on the reports.