MADRID: Landlady Maria Jose Fernandez feels unfairly portrayed as a property speculator amid the tensions over Spain's housing crisis, just weeks before a snap nationwide election.
The housing debate intensified after 87-year-old Maricarmen Abascal was evicted in September from her lifelong home and died a few days later, sparking nationwide protests.
Fernandez, a 65-year-old retiree, said the problems faced by property owners like her were being overlooked and feared government proposals to strengthen tenants' rights would make matters worse.
A couple renting her roughly 50-square-metre (540-square-foot) apartment in Cercedilla, a mountain town near Madrid, stopped paying the monthly rent of 710 euros (US$800) in 2024.
"It took me nearly two years to get an eviction date," she told AFP, describing the experience as devastating both emotionally and financially.
Unable to keep paying the rent on her own home, she was forced to move in with her daughter.
Housing is set to feature in Spain's November 29 snap election, with landlords concerned about tighter regulations and housing activists demanding greater protection for tenants.
Much of the public anger has been directed at "vulture funds" – firms accused of buying up homes and then hiking the rents to maximise profits.
Hundreds of tents have occupied Madrid's central Puerta del Sol square since the property company that owns Abascal's flat drastically raised her rent and the old lady was evicted on a stretcher.
- Plans on hold -
In response to the protests, Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez's minority government tried – but failed – to pass new housing measures.
These included a ban on evicting vulnerable tenants through 2030 and the introduction of indefinite rental contracts.
The proposals were voted down and Sanchez called an early election.
In 2023, his government introduced a housing law that strengthened tenants' rights, as well as giving regional and local authorities new tools to curb rents.
But some measures – including rent controls in areas officially designated as facing high housing demand – met resistance in regions governed by the conservative opposition Popular Party (PP).
Meanwhile, rents and property prices continued to climb as demand outstripped supply.
Average rents have almost doubled in Spain over the past decade, according to real estate website Idealista.
Javier Medina, who owned 11 rental properties generating around 10,000 euros a month, predicted indefinite rent contracts "would be the end of my business."
The government "doesn't help me and on top of that it wants to penalise me!" the 32-year-old told AFP.
Medina, who rents a home with his wife and two children, said he understood Spain faced a serious housing affordability problem.
But he wants "clear rules of the game that don't keep changing" and has put plans to develop his property business on hold until after the election.
- 'Leave us alone' -
Medina said the public debate had made it difficult to admit to being a property investor, which was "viewed very badly."
Protesters have chanted slogans including "Landlords are thieves" and "Landlords steal our wages" at demonstrations in Madrid.
Socialist spokeswoman Montse Minguez criticised vulture funds during parliamentary debates.
But she resigned last week after it emerged that her partner's company owned around 30 rental properties.
Maria, a 38-year-old landlord in Catalonia who declined to give her surname for fear of being identified by her tenants, said she too felt unfairly targeted.
"Now we're all supposedly murderers because Maricarmen died," she told AFP, saying it made her "very angry."
"Leave us alone!".
Maria, who had built up a portfolio of 30 properties over two decades, rejected being lumped together with large investment funds the government wants to prevent from buying up homes on a large scale.
"I'm not a vulture fund!" she said.
The prospect of tighter restrictions has made her consider leaving the rental market altogether.
"As my apartments become vacant, I'll sell them," she said.
The Federation of Real Estate Associations has forecast that rental transactions could fall by up to 30 per cent in the coming weeks, potentially reducing supply further and pushing prices higher.
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