Spain’s eviction moratorium looks set for yet another extension

The Government has signalled that the pandemic-era ban on evictions for non-payment by “vulnerable households” is likely to be extended yet again — despite no longer living in anything resembling a pandemic.

Spain’s First Deputy PM and Finance Minister, María Jesús Montero, told Congress this week that the Government plans to take a new package of “social shield” measures to Parliament before the year is out. Among them: a further extension of the ban on evicting vulnerable tenants who stop paying rent, and the prohibition on cutting basic utilities for the same groups.

Originally introduced in March 2020 as an emergency measure, the suspension has simply been rolled over year after year. The latest extension expires on 31 December — but all signs indicate it won’t be the last.

Political pressure to make it permanent

Hard-left Basque party EH Bildu used the session to demand the shield be renewed indefinitely. Montero didn’t go that far, but her response left little doubt that “the majority of measures” will be carried forward. The hard-left Podemos party has also argued that these temporary measures should become permanent.

So the political momentum is clearly towards normalising what began as an extraordinary crisis response five years ago.

Landlords brace for another year of uncertainty

On the other side of the equation, landlords and rental-market professionals see the writing on the wall. Laura Fernández, director-general of Asval — Spain’s largest association of residential landlords — told attendees at the recent National Housing Congress that “there’s no sign this moratorium will be lifted”.

According to Asval, both large and small landlords rank non-payment of rent and inability to recover a property as their top concerns. Without legal certainty, Fernández warned, there is “no incentive” for owners to bring more homes onto the rental market — the very opposite of what policymakers claim to want.

What the measure actually covers

The current moratorium applies in cases of “vulnerable households without alternative housing”, both for tenants under the old 1994 LAU and for certain occupants without a legal rental contract (victims of gender violence, dependants, households with minors, and so on), provided the property belongs to a “large landlord” — defined as anyone owning more than 10 homes.

Courts must request a social-services report, autonomous regions must find alternative housing, and if they fail, the owner is entitled to compensation — theoretically. Owners have until 31 January 2026 to request it, but only after a three-month period in which the administration fails to house the tenant.

A pandemic measure that refuses to die

The ban on evictions was introduced via Royal Decree 11/2020 in March 2020. Spain has long since moved on from the health emergency, but the moratorium lives on through repeated extensions — most recently in Royal Decree 1/2025.

Given this week’s announcements, it appears the Government is preparing to extend it once more.