Sanchez calls snap election after housing measures rejected

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez on Monday called a snap general election for 29 November.

The announcement came after Congress rejected a package of housing relief measures proposed by Sanchez’s minority government.

Spain's long-standing housing crisis continues to deepen as a persistent supply deficit drives up both rents and property values.

“To do more, we need to renew and broaden the support of the people,” Sanchez said, adding that his aim was to create a “broader progressive majority” capable of overcoming what he described as resistance from entrenched elites.

However, opinion polls indicate that the main opposition conservative Popular Party is ahead of the Socialists in the likelihood of forming the next government.

Among the measures, was a proposed ban on evictions involving vulnerable tenants, but the initiative failed to secure support from either government allies or opposition parties.

The rejection triggered growing protests over Spain’s housing crisis, with thousands taking to the streets in Madrid and other cities to demand more affordable housing.

Demonstrations intensified following the forced eviction of an 87-year-old pensioner from her Madrid flat.

The pensioner was required to leave the Madrid flat where she had lived for more than seven decades, follwing its acquisition by an investment company that sought to increase her rent by 275%.

Asking prices for homes have risen by around 90%, according to real estate website Idealista, Le Monde reported, while average rents have almost doubled over the past decade.

Meanwhile, demonstrations remain ongoing in central Madrid, where protesters have set up a tent city as they press for housing reforms.