Madrid, Spain - October 14, 2024

Over 20,000 people took to the streets in Madrid on Sunday amid the housing crisis in Spain which has left the locals suffering higher cost of life caused by the out-of-control housing and rental prices and insufficient social housing.

Experts said the housing prices have soared by 50 percent in ten years here in the Spanish capital, making home ownership a distant dream.

Rent prices have also soared in some parts of Spain by 100 percent in 15 years, putting residents under considerable pressure to make a living.

Protestors also demanded for more social housing, with some suggest the country replicate Vienna's model, as the Austrian capital has increased the stock of price-controlled social housing for decades to regulate housing prices and has stood out for its housing policy.

The Spanish constitution states that everyone has the right to live in a dignified place, but experts said the country needs to build over half a million houses just to keep up with demand and 5.5 million households are at risk of residential exclusion.

Spain is struggling to strike a balance between promoting tourism, a key driver of its economy, and addressing citizens' concerns over high rent prices as landlords shift to more lucrative tourist rentals, leading to series of protests.

Mallorca, the Canary Islands and Barcelona have all seen protests over tourism because the locals feel they are being priced out of the housing market.

One march that was erupted in Barcelona in July this year even saw protestors aiming water pistols at visitors chanting 'tourists go home.'

In Barcelona, a house that goes up on the rental market receives on average 350 applications.

Shotlist:
Madrid, Spain - Oct 13, 2024:
1. Protest in progress;
2. Various of protestors marching, holding signs, banners;
3. SOUNDBITE (Spanish) protestor (name not given):
"We can't go on like this, we just can't, the prices have to come down.";
4. Protestors marching, holding signs;
5. SOUNDBITE (Spanish) protestor (name not given):
"I pay over 30 percent of my salary to rent a room in a shared house, I'm sick of this, we can't even make ends meet, it's outrageous the price we pay to share a half-decent house with my child.";
6. Various of protestors marching, holding signs, banners;
6. SOUNDBITE (English) protestor (name not given):
"There are places where things are working like Vienna, we would like to follow the Viennese model where there's lots of social housing, affordable for rent.";
7. Various of protest in progress;
8. Protestors holding signs, banners;
9. Sign;
10. Various of protest in progress.

[Restriction - No access Chinese mainland]