Organizers put the number of protesters in Barcelona at 100,000 but Barcelona police said 22,000 people took part in the protests.
Smaller protests were also held in various parts of Catalonia and the regions of Asturias in the north and Jerez de la Frontera in the south.
Housing has become a major issue in Spain as it struggles to balance promoting tourism, a key driver of its economy, and concerns over high rents due to gentrification and landlords shifting to more lucrative, short-term tourist rentals.
Housing rents in Barcelona increased by about 70 percent in the second quarter of 2024 compared to the same period last year, data from the Catalan Housing Agency shows.
To prevent the crisis from escalating, the Spanish government in July restricted short-term or holiday rentals.
This year, there have been widespread protests against the influx of tourists in Madrid and Malaga as well as the Canary Islands where 16 million tourists landed last year, about seven times the region's population of 2.2 million.
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