Rent&#8217;s Too High! &#8211; Thousands Rally In Spain, As Locals Get Priced Out

Article by Viory

Housing Crisis Protest

Thousands rallied in Malaga on Saturday, protesting against soaring rents, low wages and the spread of tourist accommodation, with residents saying they are being priced out of their own city.

According to the organising platform Malaga para Vivir, more than 25,000 people joined the city’s fourth major housing protest since 2024.

Footage shows protesters marching through the streets with banners and placards, including ‘Neither sky-high rents nor rock-bottom wages’ and ‘Homes for living, not for speculation’. Protesters were also seen beating drums as the march moved through the city.

Malaga para Vivir reported the protest was part of a continuing campaign for housing to be treated as a right rather than a commodity. The group also denounced what it described as the precarisation of daily life and the destruction of local territory.

Residents Demand Action

Lula Amir, spokesperson for Malaga para Vivir, alleged the city had reached breaking point.

“We are protesting because we have reached a housing crisis that has no limits,” she said. “More and more apartments are allocated for tourism and there are fewer and fewer apartments available for the long term. So, of course, besides that, they ask us for a number of requirements that are impossible to meet.”

Resident Amanda Vazquez claimed neighbours were being pushed aside as homes were turned over to visitors.

“People are going crazy, and instead of looking out for the neighbour next door, they don’t care if they get thrown out of their home onto the street just to rent their place at a much higher price to the tourist who comes along,” she said.

For some residents, the pressure has already forced them to move.

“I have been evicted from an apartment and I’ve had to look for another one,” Angel Sotano, a protester, said. “It is obvious that they are taking over all the available apartments for tourists.”

Another protester, Maria Lopez, expressed the search for a rental had become impossible, even for people moving for work.

“As of today, we are looking for an apartment for work reasons and it is already impossible, not even a room or a house with moderately enough square metres to live in, and exorbitant rents where we are talking about €1,200 for 50 square metres in areas that they can’t even sell me as being central, because they aren’t,” she shared.

Jose Ivan Moreno said rent was swallowing most of his income.

“I spend close to 60 per cent of my salary [to pay rent],” he explained. “This is a collapse, people cannot live, nobody can afford simply to have a roof over their head because what can you afford with the salaries there are now it’s not enough for us. It’s not enough, it’s impossible.”

Calls For Reform

The demonstration comes as Malaga remains one of Spain’s clearest examples of the housing squeeze facing tourist cities.

Malaga’s mayor, Francisco de la Torre, has rejected direct blame for the crisis, pointing instead to national housing policy and limits on new development.

Opposition parties and housing groups are calling for stronger protections against evictions, rent pressure and the conversion of residential homes into tourist accommodation.

The protest follows similar demonstrations across Spain, where residents in major tourist destinations say visitor numbers, short-term rentals and property speculation are reshaping neighbourhoods faster than wages can keep up.

Article by Viory