An 87-year-old woman in Madrid was evicted from her home after an investment firm raised her rent from €500 to €2,650, which she could not afford on her monthly pension of €1,350. The eviction, occurring in the Retiro area where Maricarmen has lived since 1956, highlights Spain's housing crisis and drew support from activists and celebrities who gathered outside her building to protest. Despite legal attempts to block the eviction, it proceeded amidst police intervention, underscoring the severity of housing shortages and rent increases affecting long-term tenants in Spain.
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.
- Published
The dramatic eviction of an 87-year-old woman from the home in Madrid where she lived for seven decades has drawn attention to the depth of Spain's housing crisis.
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she → publish → crisis
The tenant of the flat in the Retiro area of central Madrid, Maricarmen, was unable to pay the rent set by the investment firm that owns it.
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that → pay → it
Maricarmen's father first rented the property in 1956 and she continued as the tenant after her parents died, during which time there was a cap on the rent.
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parents → rent → rent
However, the company that bought the property in 2018, Urbagestión, cited a legal glitch allowing it to raise her rent from €500 (£428; $572) to €2,650.
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it → buy → 2,650
It subsequently lowered the new rent to €1,650 but Maricarmen was still unable to pay it with her monthly pension of €1,350.
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Maricarmen → lower → 1,350
Three previous attempts to evict her were blocked by the courts and the case has received increasing media attention.
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case → evict → attention
Supporters of Maricarmen camped outside the building on Tuesday night, joined by celebrities including Javier Bardem's brother, Carlos, and the singer Ana Belén, who read out the poem Desahucio (Eviction) by Rafael Alberti.
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who → camp → Alberti
Several hundred people, mostly youngsters, had gathered by the morning in a bid to prevent the eviction from taking place, chanting "Maricarmen stays".
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Maricarmen → gather → place
Some activists blocked the stairs inside the building.
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activists → block → building
In a video posted on social media, a tearful Maricarmen thanked those who had come out to support her against "this cruel struggle by someone who wants to earn money".
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who → post → money
Police cordoned off a section of the street and removed people from the entrance to the building, including members of the media, striking some protesters with batons.
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Police → cordone → batons
A representative of tenants' organisation Sindicato de Inquilinas shouted at the police through a megaphone: "Think for 10 seconds about Maricarmen, who could be your own grandmother."
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who → shout → Maricarmen
"There is a police deployment as if this were a military operation," said Beatriz Duro, Maricarmen's lawyer.
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Duro → be → ?
"This is the fourth time [they've tried to evict her] but the first time they've come right to the door of the property.
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they → try → property
In June, the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights called for the pensioner's eviction to be halted and for her to be offered affordable alternative accommodation.
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her → call → accommodation
The local government said she had declined its offer of a place in an elderly care home.
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she → say → home
The central government said Urbagestión had refused its repeated attempts to negotiate Maricarmen's situation.
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Urbagestión → say → situation
The BBC has attempted to contact the company.
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BBC → attempt → company
The possibility of a last-minute reprieve for Maricarmen appeared when an anonymous donor offered to pay most of her rent.
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donor → appear → rent
However, Urbagestión reportedly rejected the offer and the eviction went ahead.
uncertain
eviction → reject → offer
"Today is a very sad day, a very dramatic day, when it's plain to see the effects of unbridled speculation, of not wanting to control the market, of putting out the red carpet for the vultures and the speculators," said Housing Minister Teresa Rodríguez.
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Rodríguez → see → vultures
A shortage of available housing has been blamed for soaring rental costs in recent years, which have left millions of Spaniards struggling to find affordable homes.
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which → blame → homes
In Madrid, rentals have increased by more than 100% over the last decade, according to property site Idealista, with a 10% rise over the last year.
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rentals → increase → year
The Socialist-led government of Pedro Sánchez has frequently targeted companies whose investment pushes up housing costs.
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investment → lead → costs
In January, the prime minister said he aimed to "protect those who are most exposed to that speculation and that greed".
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who → say → speculation
However, some critics of the government say it needs to work harder to build new homes, and others warn that its rhetoric discourages many owners from placing their properties on the rental market.
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rhetoric → say → market
The Aporia
