On Wednesday in Madrid, riot police used teargas to clear protesters who were trying to prevent the eviction of an 87-year-old disabled woman from her home. Hundreds of activists and celebrities protested overnight as authorities carried out the eviction order despite multiple attempts to block it. Maricarmen, who lives on a state pension of €1,350, was unable to meet the increased rent demands after the building's purchase raised her monthly rent to €1,650 from €500.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-09-23,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Story summary
In Madrid, Maricarmen Abascal, an 87-year-old woman who had lived in her apartment for over seven decades, was forcibly evicted on Wednesday by riot police. The eviction followed a sharp rent increase of 275% by the investment firm Urbagestión after the building changed ownership in 2018. Despite protesters barricading the door with furniture to delay the eviction and hundreds gathering outside to protest, police used force to enter her home and removed Maricarmen on a stretcher to an ambulance.
Maricarmen’s lawyer, Beatriz Duro, criticized the authorities for not providing alternative housing or protective measures for tenants. The case highlights Spain's growing housing crisis, with soaring rents, gentrification, and a shortage of affordable homes leading to public outrage. Following the eviction, thousands marched in Madrid on Saturday demanding anti-fraud rules, tenant protections, and bans on evictions without guaranteed alternatives. Protests also occurred in 16 other cities, underscoring widespread concern over housing conditions across Spain.
Written for “Spain Housing Crisis Evictions Protests” on 2026-10-05,
grounded in this article and the 24 other(s) covering the same event.
There were violent scenes in Madrid on Wednesday as riot police fought with protesters trying to prevent the eviction of a disabled 87-year-old woman from her apartment in the El Retiro district of the city.
asserted
police → be → city
Hundreds of protesters had gathered, many of them overnight, in an effort to block the fourth attempt to carry out the eviction.
asserted
Hundreds → gather → eviction
Activists from the Madrid and Barcelona tenants’ union, and celebrities including the actor Carlos Bardem and the singer and actor Ana Belén, also joined the protest.
asserted
Activists → include → protest
Police fired rounds of teargas and repeatedly baton-charged the protesters as they tried to open a path for the judicial committee to carry out the eviction order, which was eventually executed on Wednesday morning.
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which → fire → morning
The tenant, known simply by her first name Maricarmen, has 50% disability and is about to turn 88.
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tenant → know → 88
Demonstrators chanted “Ayuso’s attic for Maricarmen”, a reference to the scandal surrounding the Madrid regional president Isabel Díaz Ayuso’s alleged purchase with public money of a €6.3m residential apartment for her use as a temporary office.
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Demonstrators → chant → office
Behind the locked door, more protesters occupied the staircase leading to Maricarmen’s flat while neighbours handed out snacks and offered the demonstrators the use of their bathroom.
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neighbours → lock → bathroom
When a developer bought the building Maricarmen had lived in for 71 years, she was offered the chance to buy her apartment for €247,000 (£212,000), an impossible sum for a pensioner.
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she → buy → pensioner
They then raised her rent from €500 to €1,650 a month, while she receives a state pension of €1,350.
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she → raise → 1,350
An unnamed “prominent” writer offered to pay the €1,150 difference indefinitely but their offer was ignored.
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offer → offer → difference
In a video recorded this morning by the local tenants’ union, a tearful Maricarmen said: “Good morning, everyone, I thank you for the action you are taking, spending the whole night sleeping in the street.
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you → record → street
This has to be peaceful.
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This → have → ?
“I can still hear all your noise.
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I → hear → noise
A hug to everyone and to all the people who are supporting me in this cruel struggle against a person who wants to make money but who should not forget that they have parents and that one day they could find themselves in the situation that, unfortunately, I am in.”
uncertain
I → support → that
The original 1956 contract for the flat was in Maricarmen’s father’s name; when he died, the apartment passed to his wife, and on her death in 2008 was then sublet to Maricarmen.
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apartment → die → Maricarmen
The landlords, Urbagestión SL, successfully argued in the supreme court that this subletting was invalid and that the contract was no longer valid.
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contract → argue → court
Urbagestión SL has been approached for comment.
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SL → approach → comment
Speaking at the scene, Aldo Reverte, spokesperson for the Confederation of Tenants’ Unions, said: “Maricarmen’s case is just one more example of what happens when housing is put in the hands of landlords.
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housing → speak → landlords
The difference is that a lot of people have become aware of her situation and the tenants’ union has shown that we can fight this type of barbaric behaviour.
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we → become → behaviour
However, for all their efforts, the protesters were unable to stop the eviction.
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protesters → stop → eviction
Beatriz Duro, the lawyer representing Maricarmen, said: “The owner isn’t prepared to negotiate or accept any sort of offer.
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owner → represent → offer
We have asked for a place where we can take Maricarmen’s personal belongings.”
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we → ask → belongings
So far this year, 4,000 evictions have been carried out in Spain.
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evictions → carry → Spain
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