La crisis ha generado múltiples consecuencias sociales.

Residential exclusion and homelessness

The growing lack of affordable housing has led to an increase in homelessness in Spain. In 2025, it is estimated that between 37,000 and 42,300 people will be homeless or in precarious accommodation, while only about 28,000 shelter places are available.[45][46]​.

Some studies highlight that around 25% of the homeless population is made up of women, and almost half are foreigners, which shows the diversity of affected profiles and the presence of structural inequalities behind homelessness.[45]​.

Furthermore, the life expectancy of those who live on the streets is up to 30 years lower than the population average and the profile is no longer limited to people with addiction or mental health problems, but includes young people, migrants, single-parent families and LGTBIQ+ people.[45]​.

The pilot project of nighttime counts in 2023 (Report 2024) showed that, in the territories analyzed, 46% of homeless people spend the night directly on the street, while the rest are housed in shelters, apartments or collective centers, in many cases with saturated ratios.[47]​.

This scenario has generated growing social and media demands to adopt the “Housing First")” model —as in Finland—, which prioritizes stable housing as a starting point for recovery, and to approve a state law that recognizes the binding right to decent housing, to prevent living on the street from continuing to be a prolonged and avoidable reality.[45]​.

economic overload

The percentage of tenants who allocate more than 40% of their income to paying rent has skyrocketed in recent years, reaching around 40% of the total, compared to the 27% average in the European Union.[48]​[49]​ In 2021 this proportion was 40.9%, according to Eurostat, and has continued to increase since then.[50]​.

This high economic effort especially affects family savings, household stability and people's mental health. A study by the Barcelona Urban Research Institute indicates that more than half of tenants are in a situation of severe poverty after paying rent, and a third allocates more than 50% of their monthly income.[51]​.

The situation deteriorates the ability of families to save, makes access to mortgage credit difficult and increases economic vulnerability. In addition, around 25% of households allocate more than 50% of their income to paying for housing.[52]​.

This economic overload translates into harmful effects on the psychological well-being of tenants, generating anxiety, financial stress and emergency housing decisions, such as facing increasing rents, delaying emancipation or sharing a flat out of necessity.[53]​.

Social mobilization

Starting in 2024, citizen demonstrations intensified throughout Spain, organized by tenant unions, neighborhood movements and platforms for the right to housing. These mobilizations demanded measures such as the regulation of rental prices, the increase in the public housing stock, the mobilization of empty homes, the limitation of tourist rentals and the stoppage of evictions without a housing alternative.[54]​[55]​.

The day of April 5, 2025 was the most significant to date, with simultaneous protests called in around 40 Spanish cities. In Madrid and Barcelona, ​​participation exceeded tens of thousands of people, while in other capitals such as Logroño or Ibiza "Ibiza (city)"), notable concentrations were recorded with slogans such as “Let's end the housing business” or “Ibiza is not rented”.[56]​[57]​[58]​[59]​.

These protests reflect a growing social unrest in the face of escalating housing prices, precarious access to rentals and the perception that institutional measures are insufficient. According to various media, housing has established itself as one of the main causes of social mobilization in Spain.[41]​.

European Commission

The European Commission has urged the Government of Spain to adopt urgent measures to accelerate housing construction, expand the public housing stock and contain the uncontrolled growth of tourist rentals. According to the 2025 Spring Package, Brussels highlights that Spain has one of the lowest levels of public housing in the EU (only 1.5% compared to 9% in the EU), and that almost 40% of tenants allocate 40% of their income to rent, compared to 27% in the Union as a whole.[60][61]​.

The European semester report also calls for completing the reform of the Land Law and reducing license terms to promote new constructions, as well as solving the labor deficit in the construction sector - more than 50% of companies point it out as a growing problem - and containing the boom in tourist rentals, which reduces the supply for permanent residents. Brussels warns that the current situation can become a brake on internal migratory flows and on the employment and economic growth of Spain.[62]​[63]​.

Government of Spain

The Government of Spain has promoted various legislative measures and strategic plans to confront the housing crisis. In May 2023, Law 12/2023 was approved, for the right to housing, the first state regulation in this matter, which contemplates the limitation of rental prices in stressed areas, the creation of registries of large holders, the promotion of social housing and protection against evictions in vulnerable situations.[64][65]​.

Furthermore, in 2025 the Executive announced the PERTE for the industrialization of the residential sector, with a planned public investment of 1.3 billion euros to promote the industrialized construction of between 15,000 and 20,000 homes annually.[66][67]​.

However, various sources have pointed out a significant gap between the Government's announcements and their degree of execution. In April 2023, President Pedro Sánchez promised the creation of 244,000 public housing units, but official data indicates that by the end of 2024, only about 350 units had been delivered, while only 47,209 had a signed contract and 71,620 had been mobilized. More than 115,000 homes still had not been started.[68]​.

Likewise, the budget execution report shows that in 2023 only 47% of the spending allocated to access to housing and buildings was executed, with more than 2 billion euros not used compared to what was planned.[69]​.

Regarding the European-funded plan to build 25,000 social homes, at the end of 2024 none had yet been delivered. Only 16,067 were awarded or in the pipeline, and 2,522 were in the bidding phase. Budget execution reached just 48.5%.[70]​.

Various media have described the Executive's housing balance as insufficient after six years of government, pointing out the lack of tangible results and the slowness in execution as causes of the worsening of the crisis.[71]​.

Expert proposals

Organizations, academics and associations in the sector have proposed a broad set of measures aimed at expanding the supply of affordable housing and improving its quality. These proposals include the implementation of a National Building Renovation Plan, which promotes the rehabilitation of the built stock, the mobilization of empty homes through tax incentives and surcharges on unoccupied properties, the simplification of urban planning procedures and the creation of single windows for the management of subsidies or licenses, as well as the promotion of public-private collaborations to finance construction projects and rehabilitation.[72][73][74][75][76]​.

• - Spanish real estate crisis of 2008-2014.

La crisis ha generado múltiples consecuencias sociales.

Residential exclusion and homelessness

The growing lack of affordable housing has led to an increase in homelessness in Spain. In 2025, it is estimated that between 37,000 and 42,300 people will be homeless or in precarious accommodation, while only about 28,000 shelter places are available.[45][46]​.

Some studies highlight that around 25% of the homeless population is made up of women, and almost half are foreigners, which shows the diversity of affected profiles and the presence of structural inequalities behind homelessness.[45]​.

Furthermore, the life expectancy of those who live on the streets is up to 30 years lower than the population average and the profile is no longer limited to people with addiction or mental health problems, but includes young people, migrants, single-parent families and LGTBIQ+ people.[45]​.

The pilot project of nighttime counts in 2023 (Report 2024) showed that, in the territories analyzed, 46% of homeless people spend the night directly on the street, while the rest are housed in shelters, apartments or collective centers, in many cases with saturated ratios.[47]​.

This scenario has generated growing social and media demands to adopt the “Housing First")” model —as in Finland—, which prioritizes stable housing as a starting point for recovery, and to approve a state law that recognizes the binding right to decent housing, to prevent living on the street from continuing to be a prolonged and avoidable reality.[45]​.

economic overload

The percentage of tenants who allocate more than 40% of their income to paying rent has skyrocketed in recent years, reaching around 40% of the total, compared to the 27% average in the European Union.[48]​[49]​ In 2021 this proportion was 40.9%, according to Eurostat, and has continued to increase since then.[50]​.

This high economic effort especially affects family savings, household stability and people's mental health. A study by the Barcelona Urban Research Institute indicates that more than half of tenants are in a situation of severe poverty after paying rent, and a third allocates more than 50% of their monthly income.[51]​.

The situation deteriorates the ability of families to save, makes access to mortgage credit difficult and increases economic vulnerability. In addition, around 25% of households allocate more than 50% of their income to paying for housing.[52]​.

This economic overload translates into harmful effects on the psychological well-being of tenants, generating anxiety, financial stress and emergency housing decisions, such as facing increasing rents, delaying emancipation or sharing a flat out of necessity.[53]​.

Social mobilization

Starting in 2024, citizen demonstrations intensified throughout Spain, organized by tenant unions, neighborhood movements and platforms for the right to housing. These mobilizations demanded measures such as the regulation of rental prices, the increase in the public housing stock, the mobilization of empty homes, the limitation of tourist rentals and the stoppage of evictions without a housing alternative.[54]​[55]​.

The day of April 5, 2025 was the most significant to date, with simultaneous protests called in around 40 Spanish cities. In Madrid and Barcelona, ​​participation exceeded tens of thousands of people, while in other capitals such as Logroño or Ibiza "Ibiza (city)"), notable concentrations were recorded with slogans such as “Let's end the housing business” or “Ibiza is not rented”.[56]​[57]​[58]​[59]​.

These protests reflect a growing social unrest in the face of escalating housing prices, precarious access to rentals and the perception that institutional measures are insufficient. According to various media, housing has established itself as one of the main causes of social mobilization in Spain.[41]​.

European Commission

The European Commission has urged the Government of Spain to adopt urgent measures to accelerate housing construction, expand the public housing stock and contain the uncontrolled growth of tourist rentals. According to the 2025 Spring Package, Brussels highlights that Spain has one of the lowest levels of public housing in the EU (only 1.5% compared to 9% in the EU), and that almost 40% of tenants allocate 40% of their income to rent, compared to 27% in the Union as a whole.[60][61]​.

The European semester report also calls for completing the reform of the Land Law and reducing license terms to promote new constructions, as well as solving the labor deficit in the construction sector - more than 50% of companies point it out as a growing problem - and containing the boom in tourist rentals, which reduces the supply for permanent residents. Brussels warns that the current situation can become a brake on internal migratory flows and on the employment and economic growth of Spain.[62]​[63]​.

Government of Spain

The Government of Spain has promoted various legislative measures and strategic plans to confront the housing crisis. In May 2023, Law 12/2023 was approved, for the right to housing, the first state regulation in this matter, which contemplates the limitation of rental prices in stressed areas, the creation of registries of large holders, the promotion of social housing and protection against evictions in vulnerable situations.[64][65]​.

Furthermore, in 2025 the Executive announced the PERTE for the industrialization of the residential sector, with a planned public investment of 1.3 billion euros to promote the industrialized construction of between 15,000 and 20,000 homes annually.[66][67]​.

However, various sources have pointed out a significant gap between the Government's announcements and their degree of execution. In April 2023, President Pedro Sánchez promised the creation of 244,000 public housing units, but official data indicates that by the end of 2024, only about 350 units had been delivered, while only 47,209 had a signed contract and 71,620 had been mobilized. More than 115,000 homes still had not been started.[68]​.

Likewise, the budget execution report shows that in 2023 only 47% of the spending allocated to access to housing and buildings was executed, with more than 2 billion euros not used compared to what was planned.[69]​.

Regarding the European-funded plan to build 25,000 social homes, at the end of 2024 none had yet been delivered. Only 16,067 were awarded or in the pipeline, and 2,522 were in the bidding phase. Budget execution reached just 48.5%.[70]​.

Various media have described the Executive's housing balance as insufficient after six years of government, pointing out the lack of tangible results and the slowness in execution as causes of the worsening of the crisis.[71]​.

Expert proposals

Organizations, academics and associations in the sector have proposed a broad set of measures aimed at expanding the supply of affordable housing and improving its quality. These proposals include the implementation of a National Building Renovation Plan, which promotes the rehabilitation of the built stock, the mobilization of empty homes through tax incentives and surcharges on unoccupied properties, the simplification of urban planning procedures and the creation of single windows for the management of subsidies or licenses, as well as the promotion of public-private collaborations to finance construction projects and rehabilitation.[72][73][74][75][76]​.

• - Spanish real estate crisis of 2008-2014.