Housing

Spain's housing protests draw to a close following camp dismantling in Seville and Valencia

With a few exceptions, such as Barcelona and Palma, almost all Spanish cities have now returned to normal

The right to housing camp in Seville has been cleared. (EFE/ Mauri Buhigas)

Madrid

13/11/2026 Actualizado a las 06:45h.

The protest camps for the right to housing across Spain are drawing to a close. This Thursday, Seville and Valencia cleared the last remaining tents. ... With a few exceptions such as Barcelona and Palma, almost all Spanish cities have now returned to normal.

It has been 47 days since that 26 September, when Madrid's Puerta del Sol saw the start of a protest that people in various parts of the country replicated. The image of camps even crossed borders and reached Rome, Porto and Lisbon.

Many activists considered the general strike on 11 November a deadline.

- Madrid camp in Puerta del Sol dismantled after 38 days of protest
Iñigo Goñi Davó

"The safety of everyone taking part in the camp and non-violence have always been our priorities. We want to take down our tents in a peaceful and orderly manner, clear the square and give as many supplies as possible to those who need them most," the organisations stated in a press release.

Activists in Valencia said that "neither the city council nor the regional government has been willing to sit down and engage in political dialogue" with them. After "exhausting" all avenues of protest and advocacy, they found themselves facing "an extreme situation: either we leave the camp or we face forced eviction". They have therefore decided to bring this initiative to an end.

Camp dismantling in Seville

The camp in Seville has also come to an end. The National Police had taken it upon themselves to "identify and monitor" the 20 people who were still in the Plaza de la Encarnación in the Andalusian capital.

The operation involved around ten vans and took place at around 6am. Mayor José Luis Sanz thanked the public services for their work "to ensure that this space once again belongs to all the people of Seville".

Barcelona and Palma are still holding out

Despite seeing Madrid, Malaga, Santa Cruz de Tenerife and Bilbao clear their camps, either voluntarily or by force, Barcelona and Palma remain the main centres of resistance to this initiative.

In the Catalan capital, the camp has been ongoing in Plaça Catalunya since 29 September. Meanwhile, in Palma, protesters re-occupied Plaça d’Espanya during the general strike, a week after being cleared from the square.

Other cities, such as Santiago de Compostela and Granada, still had their protest camps on Wednesday, during the general strike. Participation, however, is now minimal and the protest camps are nearing their end across Spain as a whole.

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