Spanish Pensioner Returns to Madrid Apartment After Settlement in High‑Rent Eviction Case

A Madrid pensioner whose eviction sparked nationwide protests and intensified pressure on the government to address Spain’s housing crisis will be able to return to her home following a settlement with the property’s owners, her lawyer announced on Monday.

Affordable housing has long been a persistent problem in Spain, but the public outcry over the eviction of 87‑year‑old Maricarmen Abascal last Wednesday propelled the crisis to the centre of political debate.

Since Saturday night, roughly 100 tents have been erected in Madrid’s iconic Puerta del Sol square, and tens of thousands of people have taken to the streets in protests nationwide.

“If this agreement is signed, it will be a better and happier outcome for everyone,” said Beatriz Duro, Abascal’s lawyer, describing the settlement as “a result of the social mobilisation.”

“Hopefully this agreement—representing a new approach to ending such situations, which unfortunately occur daily in Spain—will help shift the paradigm of housing in general,” Duro added.

Abascal, a wheelchair user who had lived in the Madrid home for 70 years, was removed on a stretcher and became a symbol of the protest against soaring housing prices and insufficient tenant protections.

She had consistently paid her rent, but the real‑estate firm that owned her apartment raised the monthly rent by 275 % to €2,650 (≈ $3,000), according to supporters.

Duro reported that there had been “goodwill from both parties” and that the new rent would be “similar to what she had been paying.”

Abascal will be able to return to her apartment in Madrid’s upscale Retiro neighbourhood once she leaves the hospital, where she is being treated for exhaustion, Duro said, noting that the goal is to “accelerate the procedures.”

‘Be courageous’

Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez’s government is seeking agreement on a new housing package to present to the cabinet on Tuesday in an effort to placate public anger.

“We are living through a serious situation in Spain right now,” said Carlota, a 29‑year‑old protester who spent Sunday night in Sol, calling for an end to prioritising capital and investment funds over people.

In Barcelona, where housing costs have been linked to overtourism in recent years, around 2,000 protesters gathered on Monday night to demand ambitious measures during Prime Minister Sánchez’s visit.

“We have come here to tell him that we don’t want a sham decree,” said Carme Arcarazo, a spokeswoman for the Catalan Tenants’ Union, speaking to reporters including AFP.

“We don’t want sticking plasters… we want decent housing so that what happened to Maricarmen doesn’t happen again,” Arcarazo added, calling for a rent freeze, indefinite contracts and anti‑eviction measures.

‘Jungle’

Over the past decade, the average rental price per square metre in Spain has almost doubled, reaching €15.10 in August, according to the real‑estate portal Idealista.

For buyers, it now stands at €2,355, an increase of more than 50 % over the same period, according to official figures.

“It’s a jungle, it’s impossible to become fully independent without flat‑sharing,” Laura Requena, a 32‑year‑old teacher, told AFP at the Barcelona protest.

“We can’t make ends meet while having to pay a rent,” she added.

The Bank of Spain estimates the country of around 50 million people is short of 700 000 homes, based on the gap between demand and new construction.

Spain has little public housing, while rents have been driven up by increased demand, including from tourism and population growth linked to immigration, analysts say.

(FRANCE 24 with AFP)

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