Mass rallies have erupted in Madrid and approximately 50 other Spanish cities, with demonstrators demanding affordable housing legislation after lawmakers rejected two emergency rental decrees. Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez is now weighing whether to call a snap general election, having entered a period of reflection following the legislative defeat of his tenant protection package. The rejected measures would have banned the eviction of vulnerable tenants until 2030 and limited rent increases to 2% until 2027.

The current unrest was sparked by the eviction of an 87-year-old woman from her lifelong residence after her rent rose from €500 to €1,650. Prediction markets on Polymarket have shifted the probability of a snap election by the end of the year to 60%, with potential dates listed as November 29 or December 6. Sánchez's minority government is under simultaneous pressure from a migration crisis in Ceuta and judicial investigations into his family and former senior party officials.