Madrid rises against the housing business: protests on May 24 against "rentism" and speculation

Madrid will once again become the epicenter of the housing protest next Sunday, May 24. The Tenants' Union has called a demonstration that will start at 12:00 hours in Atocha under the slogan “Housing costs us our lives. Let's lower prices”. The protest seeks to gather thousands of people to denounce the uncontrolled increase in rents and the lack of forceful measures against real estate speculation.

The mobilization comes a few weeks after Congress struck down the extraordinary extension of rental contracts, rejected with the votes of PP, Vox and Junts and the abstention of the PNV. The decree allowed contracts to be extended up to two years with limits on rent increases. Its fall has intensified the discomfort among tenants and social groups, who denounce an increasingly unsustainable situation for working families.

Dozens of neighborhood organizations, unions, and social platforms have already confirmed their participation. Among them are groups from neighborhoods such as Lavapiés, Malasaña, Chamberí, Carabanchel, and Tetuán, where tourist pressure and temporary rentals are accelerating processes of gentrification and neighborhood expulsion.

The conveners demand a 50% reduction in rental prices, indefinite contracts, and greater public intervention on empty homes and large holders. They also demand measures against international investment funds and companies dedicated to the massive purchase of housing. The recent operation by which Blackstone acquired 5,000 homes from Brookfield Asset Management has reactivated criticism against the current real estate model.

According to data from the Ministry of Social Rights and the CSIC cited by the convening groups, the percentage of households living in rented accommodation has almost doubled in just over a decade, while the concentration of properties in the hands of multi-owners increases. Trade unions denounce that many families already allocate more than 70% of their salary to rent payments.

The protest on May 24 aims to be the start of a sustained campaign of mobilizations. The organizers assure that the housing crisis no longer affects only access to a home, but also job stability, mental health, and coexistence in neighborhoods. "Housing has become a machine of impoverishment and expulsion," they maintain from the movement, which points directly to institutions, large landlords, and investment funds as responsible for an increasingly visible social emergency.