Mark Stücklin
Spain’s deepening housing crisis has been described as a “social pandemic” that threatens to tip society towards collapse if supply is not urgently increased, according to warnings heard this week in the Spanish Senate.
The event, organised by GAD3 – a research and consultancy firm specialising in opinion polls and social studies – and the Council of Technical Architecture (CGATE), painted a stark picture of a market where only 100,000 new homes are built each year, while more than 200,000 households are formed.
Housing at the centre of inequality
Narciso Michavila, president of GAD3, argued that housing is now the “greatest axis of inequality” in Spain. “There is no true wellbeing, stable employment, or sustainable health if young people can’t even form a household,” he said. Without swift action to increase all types of housing, he warned, “this society will collapse.”
The GAD3 barometer also found housing is fuelling stress, anxiety, and even depression, with more than 40% of Spaniards – and over half of tenants – naming it as one of the two biggest problems in the country.
“A social pandemic”
CGATE president Alfredo Sanz described the situation as a “social pandemic” that forces young people to secure housing before even accepting a job or moving for studies. With the average age of emancipation above 30 and more than a third of young adults relying on family support to move out, speakers linked the crisis directly to Spain’s low birth rate.
Calls for action
Across the board, panellists demanded faster planning processes, lower housing-related taxes, and stronger legal certainty to encourage development. Senate president Pedro Rollán underlined that “without legal security there will be no housing,” noting that capital flees uncertainty.
Developers also pointed to bureaucracy as the main bottleneck. Juan Antonio Gómez-Pintado of Vía Ágora warned that 20-year planning horizons make land unattractive to investors, while Gema Gallardo of Provivienda stressed that affordability must be the focus to stop large sections of society slipping down the social ladder.
Politics and the ballot box
The issue is already shaping political battles. PSOE defends its 2023 Housing Law, new national housing plan, and rent controls, while the PP argues the problem is fundamentally a lack of supply. Michavila predicts housing will be a decisive factor in upcoming elections, as it is across most Western societies.
The message from the Senate was blunt: unless Spain finds the courage to cut red tape, reduce taxes, and expand supply, the crisis will deepen – and so will its political fallout.
