Spain freezes some vulture-fund evictions until 2030

In Spain, some people facing eviction by property funds can stay in their homes until 31 December 2030: courts must suspend the cases if they are vulnerable and have nowhere else to live. The rule is part of a housing decree approved by the Spanish government, Europa Press reported on 30 September 2026.

The rule applies to certain companies that buy properties or bundles of unpaid mortgage loans for far less than their assessed market value. Often called “vulture funds”, they can have an eviction case suspended even after a court ruling, as long as the eviction has not yet happened. The decree offers these companies no compensation for the delay.

When other landlords can be paid

Other landlords face different rules. A court can suspend an eviction if the person facing it is vulnerable, has no other home and has not been offered suitable housing by the relevant authority. The court must first ask the authority what housing it has available. If none is offered, or the authority does not reply, the case is suspended.

The court reviews the suspension every twelve months. It ends if the person is no longer vulnerable, suitable housing becomes available, they turn it down without good reason, or three years pass. A private owner, or a company that regularly lets affordable or social housing, can receive compensation. That covers at most the contractual rent lost and unpaid utility bills, not possible future profits or distress.

What happens when rent is unpaid

The decree also sets out what happens when an eviction case concerns unpaid rent. If a tenant’s financial vulnerability is established and the authority offers no suitable home, it has no more than two months to pay the landlord everything owed, including sums that fall due in that period, or deposit the money with the court. The case and any eviction remain on hold. If the full amount is paid on time, the case ends and the tenancy continues.

If the authority neither pays in full nor offers suitable housing within those two months, it automatically takes over the tenant’s position as debtor. The eviction cannot go ahead, and the tenancy continues until it expires while the tenant remains financially vulnerable.

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Source: Europa Press / Mallorca.com