Prices of rental property have risen by 54 percent in the last six years, according to Idealista, the property website.

In Madrid and Barcelona (and other city centres) the real estate market and the cost of renting has boomed due to investors snapping up properties to rent out. Owners have also put up rental prices, as tourist rental sites like Airbnb have made it easy for them to do so.

After Spain emerged from the deep economic crisis of 2008, the total number of evictions fell between 2013 and last year from 67,199 in 2013 to 54,006 last year, according to data from the General Judicial Council.

Spain Laws In Favour of Tenants

However, the proportion of those evicted who were tenants increased from 57 percent in 2013 to 67.5 in 2019.

The left-wing coalition of the Spanish Socialists Workers’ Party and the far-left Unidas Podemos (UP) promised to introduce measures to protect tenants in its manifesto before last year’s election.

The Urban Lease Law, which is expected to come into force in the summer, will restrict rental prices in regions where there has been a sharp increase in prices.

Pablo Iglesias, the second deputy prime minister, and leader of UP, who has worked on the new law said it would protect vulnerable families.
“These are the first measures which will help families who are not guaranteed the constitutional right to a home,” he said.

Will the new law also protect homeowners?

The legislation will also provide protection for vulnerable property owners who cannot pay back their mortgages.

How do I know if I qualify for protection?

So far, the draft law is still at its early stages, so details of who will qualify for protection are so far unknown.