Protesters battle Spanish police as demonstrations over the country's housing crisis escalate into violence hours after socialist PM announced snap election

Protesters in Barcelona have battled Spanish police in the streets as demonstrations against the country's spiralling housing crisis have turned violent.

It comes as Spain’s socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez called a snap election yesterday after his government suffered a bruising legislative defeat last week on emergency measures related to the country's housing crisis.

In recent weeks, Spaniards have demanded solutions from the government over housing affordability, holding protests in cities across the country after public outrage grew over the televised eviction of an 87-year-old woman in Madrid last month.

Right-wing opposition parties joined forces to scuttle two emergency decrees in Parliament that included measures to reduce evictions and real estate speculation. 

The setback had sparked rumours that Sanchez could consider moving forward a national election due to be held next year.

The cost of housing, which critics say has been pushed up by the proliferation of Airbnb-style rentals, is set to be one of the key issues in the election campaign. 

Nearly 30 officers were injured and 13 people including a minor were arrested in the clashes last night in the Catalan capital’s city centre.

Trash containers burn in a central street during unrest following a demonstration for housing rights in Barcelona

Demonstrators clash with riot police overnight in Barcelona

A demonstrator throws a brick toward police officers during a protest

Protesters throw stones and projectiles at riot police lines during clashes

 The fresh confrontations occurred two days after a similar protest in Valencia a three-hour drive south erupted into violence and ended up with metal fences being thrown at riot cops.

Protesters threw missiles including stones, bottles and flares at police last night and set fire to wheelie bins and other objects they turned into burning barricades.

The demonstration, called by the Tenants’ Union of Catalonia which was founded to defend tenant rights, prevent evictions and fight against abusive practices by landlords and real estate agencies, began around 7pm in central Urquinaona Square.

Around 120,000 people flooded the streets to demand measures against the housing crisis according to the organisers although police put the number at around 20,000.

The street protest had been due to take place on Saturday but was postponed to last night because of the heavy rain that hit the area, causing two deaths.

The problems began around 9.30pm with police saying a group of hooded men set fire to containers on Casp Street and started throwing objects at the police line.

Extraordinary footage showed masked radicals throwing bottles and flares at riot cops after Catalan police declared the march over and issued warnings to protesters to leave the area.

Police baton charges were ordered after some of the rioters erected barricades with wheelie bins they set on fire and tables and chairs.

A protester throws stones at the police during clashes

Trash containers burn in a central street during unrest in Barcelona

Protesters hold a Communist Party flag as a bin burns during a demonstration

Several police vans were damaged during the pitched battles, which ended around midnight. 

Police said 28 barricades were formed and 22 fires that started during the violence had to be put out.

The minor arrested is a female, and the rest of the detainees were adult men.

30 police officers were hurt during the violence, although their injuries were said to be minor. 

Meanwhile, at least five people were arrested during the violence that erupted in Valencia on Saturday at the end of a demo for the right to housing. 

Police sources said nine officers were injured during those clashes.

It comes as protesters are camped out across Spain to demand action over the housing crisis.

Activists have turned Madrid’s central Sol Square into a tent city which is expected to grow in the coming days following the announcement of early elections.

The demonstrations were ignited by the recent eviction of an 87-year-old woman from her Madrid home of more than seven decades.

Police attempt to maintain order among groups of youths who threw objects at officers

Protesters throw objects during a demonstration against evictions and high rent prices on plaza Catalunya in Barcelona

Demonstrators launch fireworks and pyrotechnics directly at riot police

Riot police disperse protesters following a demonstration over Spain's housing crisis

Maricarmen Abascal was carried out of the Madrid flat where she had lived for 70 years on a stretcher on 23 September, following a dispute over a proposed 275 per cent rent rise.

Footage filmed inside showed riot police forcing their way through a barricade of chairs, shelves and a lamp as supporters tried to stop the court-ordered eviction.

Tens of thousands marched through the Spanish capital  to protest her eviction and demand stronger protection for tenants amid a housing shortage and soaring rents.

After the widespread outrage, Abascal has been allowed to return to her home after agreeing to a new contract under which she would pay a similar amount of rent.

Abascal's father first rented the flat, in the upmarket area of Retiro in central Madrid, in 1956. 

She remained its tenant after her parents died, with her rent capped under an old tenancy agreement.