José Luis Martínez-Almeida

José Luis Martínez-Almeida has served as Mayor of Madrid since June 2019, representing the Partido Popular (PP). A lawyer by training, he was PP's candidate in the 2019 Madrid municipal elections and was re-elected with an increased majority in May 2023. He is one of Spain's most prominent PP politicians at sub-national level and a regular interlocutor with national housing and urban policy debates.

Almeida has been a consistent opponent of the PSOE-led central government's housing agenda, arguing that Madrid's housing market requires supply-led solutions rather than price controls, and that rent caps drive landlords to withdraw properties from the rental market. He has also challenged the Airbnb €64m fine, framing it as anti-competitive overreach by the national Ministry of Consumer Affairs that damages Madrid's position as a short-let destination.

Madrid under Almeida has not declared any stressed rental zone under Ley 12/2023, effectively opting out of The National rent-cap mechanism for the city. This is both ideological and strategic: Almeida opposes the law and the PP has filed constitutional challenges against it. His co-financing obligations under the Plan Estatal de Vivienda 2026-2030 make him a key gatekeeper for €840m of CCAA funds directed at Madrid, creating a tension between his political opposition and the city's access to housing investment.