One of the biggest demonstration happened in the capital, Madrid, where estimates of the number of participants varied widely. The city’s Tenants’ Union said there were 500,000, while officials put the figure at 70,000.
Demonstrators held banners reading “There won’t be peace for rentism” and “I study to have a future, not to have a tiny apartment”. They shook the keys they were holding and chanted: “We have the keys of all the city”.
Some had also camped in one of the city’s main squares, Puerta del Sol, for days.
One protester, David, told RTVE ahead of the protest: “We’re not here for pleasure or comfort. We’re here out of conviction.”
Another protester, 26-year-old librarian Marcos Sainz, told AFP news agency that he used to share a two-bedroom flat with friends, paying 900 euros (£766) a month in rent. Today, he said a one-bedroom flat often costs 1,000 euros.
Sainz said he would protest against rent rises “until someone dares to regulate it all”, or “we’ll all have to leave Madrid”.
Spanish police said they had arrested three members of a far-right group, some of whom had performed Nazi salutes, as they tried to reach demonstrators in the square.
On Friday night, Madrid’s Tenants’ Union said that although the government’s proposed measures were insufficient, the rejection of the proposed legislation “exacerbates the housing crisis which is costing the working class their lives”.
It is calling for a general strike over the housing crisis.
