MADRID - Hundreds of thousands marched across 40 Spanish cities on Saturday to protest against soaring rents and a lack of affordable homes in a country that enjoys Europe's fastest economic growth and yet suffers from a severe housing shortage exacerbated by a tourism boom.

Spain's centre-left government has struggled to find a balance between attracting tourists and migrants to fill job gaps and keeping rents affordable for average citizens, as short-term rentals have mushroomed in major cities and coastal destinations alike.

"No matter who governs, we must defend housing rights," activists shouted as they rattled keychains in Madrid, where more than 150,000 protesters marched through the capital's centre, according to the local tenants' union.

Average Spanish rents have doubled and house prices swelled by 44% over the past decade, data from property website Idealista showed, far outpacing salary growth. Meanwhile, the supply of rentals has halved since the 2020 pandemic.

"They're kicking all of us out to make tourist flats," said Margarita Aizpuru, a 65-year-old resident of the popular Lavapies neighbourhood. Nearly 100 families living in her block were told by the building's owners that their rental contracts would not be renewed, she said.

Homeowners associations and experts say that current regulations discourage long-term rentals, and landlords find that renting to tourists or foreigners for days or a couple of months is more profitable and safer.

Spain received a record 94 million tourists in 2024, making it the second most-visited country in the world, as well as an influx of thousands of migrants, both of which are widening a housing deficit of 500,000 homes, the Bank of Spain has said.

According to official data, only about 120,000 new homes are built in Spain every year - a sixth of the levels before the 2008 financial crisis - worsening the already acute supply shortage.

Wendy Davila, 26, said that the problem was not just in the city centre, since rents were too high "everywhere".

"It cannot be that to live in Madrid you need to share a flat with four others." 

Reuters