National report on the housing system from a multi-level perspective: Spain

An extract from Deliverable 4.2 “National reports on the housing system from a multi-level perspective”

Spain’s housing system faces a structural crisis marked by high commodification, minimal social housing, and widening affordability gaps. Rooted in a pro-ownership model, homeownership has declined since the 1990s while rentals expanded after the 2008 crisis, amid housing financialisation. Austerity, mass foreclosures, and asset privatisation enabled global investors to consolidate portfolios, accelerating rentier accumulation and inequality.

Governance fragmentation, market logics, and wealth inequalities persist. Achieving greater housing decommodification requires long-term public investment, stronger regulation, and tenant protections to ensure climate transitions do not reproduce spatial inequities in Spain.