After forced eviction in Madrid: Senior citizen is allowed to return to her apartment

dpa | After protests against her eviction, an 87-year-old woman in Madrid is allowed to return to her apartment. Representatives of Maricarmen Abascal reached an agreement on Monday evening with the real estate company that owns the building, Spanish daily El País reported, citing the parties involved and the intermediaries in the case.

The senior citizen was allowed to return under new rental conditions, it was said. Her rent will roughly correspond to the amount she has paid so far: around 500 euros for rent, additional costs and house payments. According to the report, Abascal's confirmation that she accepts the terms is still pending.

Out of outrage over the 87-year-old's forced eviction and anger over the ever-increasing housing shortage in Spain, tens of thousands took to the streets in Madrid over the weekend. The protest was held under the motto “Ni una Maricarmen más” (“No more Maricarmen”).

Other demands ranged from better protection against forced evictions to legal measures against rising rents, against housing as an investment property and to strengthen tenants' rights.

Abascal moved into the apartment in Madrid's Retiro district with her parents in 1956 and later took over the rental agreement. After the building was sold to a real estate company, she was told to move out because her old rental agreement was no longer valid. The new owners won justice in court.

After several failed eviction attempts, she was finally removed from her apartment by police officers on Wednesday despite resistance from supporters and taken to a hospital.

The demonstrators blamed both the left-wing central government of Pedro Sánchez and conservative regional governments such as that of Isabel Díaz Ayuso in Madrid for the housing shortage. They are calling, among other things, for the automatic extension of rental agreements for an indefinite period of time, better protection against evictions, a freeze on rents and a reform of tenancy law that regulates temporary rental agreements and the rental of rooms more closely.

In the wake of the protests, the government is working on passing a new legislative decree on housing policy in the Council of Ministers on Tuesday. Among other things, measures against forced evictions are planned. The government is currently still negotiating with several parties about the necessary majority.