A large demonstration for the right to housing will take place this Sunday through the center of Madrid. The march, called by the Madrid Tenants' Union and supported by numerous associations, will depart from Atocha at 12:00 PM under the slogan “Housing costs us our lives. Let's lower prices”.
After the route through central streets, the mobilization will conclude in the Sevilla area, where musical performances and interventions by participating collectives are scheduled. These include housing defense entities, anti-eviction platforms, environmental, anti-racist, neighborhood, and union organizations.
The protest aims to highlight the difficulty of accessing housing, the soaring rental prices, and their social impact. Organizers are demanding a reduction in rents, the return of indefinite contracts, and an increase in minimum wages and pensions to 1,500 euros.
According to data from the organizers, rents in Madrid have risen by more than 50% in the last five years, with the average cost in the Community exceeding 1,500 euros per month, and many families dedicating over 70% of their income to payments.
Demands also include the expropriation of large property holders and the creation of public housing stock. Rentiers, real estate agencies, funds, banks, and administrations are held responsible for a speculative model.
In the Community of Madrid, a model considered favorable to high earners is denounced, with calls to recover properties sold to investment funds, declare tense areas, and implement price limitations.
The march will be attended by the general secretaries of CC.OO., Unai Sordo, and UGT, Pepe Álvarez, along with their regional leaders, Paloma López and Susana Huertas. The unions warn that housing access has become a key factor of inequality.
CC.OO. and UGT advocate for limiting rents to 30% of household income and reforming the mortgage market, as well as expanding the affordable public housing stock.
Representatives from the PSOE, including the socialist spokesperson in the Madrid City Council, Reyes Maroto, and the Regional Federation of Neighborhood Associations of Madrid (FRAVM), will also participate, under the banner “Dignified housing for the residents of Madrid”.
Demands include expanding affordable and social public housing, permanently protecting subsidized housing, mobilizing empty properties for stable residential use, and effectively limiting abusive rental prices, as well as regulating tourist rentals and protecting families from evictions.
The call follows a national demonstration on April 5, 2025, and organizers maintain that the housing crisis has worsened, becoming a "machine of impoverishment, expulsion, and control".
The collective rejects blaming migrant populations, squatting, or pensioners, arguing the problem stems from a model that turns neighborhoods into tourist spaces. Public administrations are accused of insufficient action, and a call is made for neighborhood mobilization to "actively resist".
The demonstration will cause traffic disruptions and affect 26 lines of the Municipal Transport Company (EMT) between approximately 11:30 AM and 2:00 PM, particularly around the Emperor Carlos V Roundabout, Paseo del Prado, and Plaza de Cibeles.
