87-Year-Old Dragged From Home After 70 Years as Police Spray Protesters at Madrid Eviction

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MADRID — An 87-year-old woman was carried out of her home on a stretcher Wednesday morning after police forced their way through hundreds of activists who had gathered to stop her eviction, in a case that has become a flashpoint for Spain's deepening housing crisis.

Maricarmen, who had lived in the apartment on Alcalde Sainz de Baranda street in Madrid's Retiro district since 1956, was removed shortly before 1:00 p.m. and taken to Gregorio Marañón Hospital [248001]. It was the fourth eviction attempt she had faced in recent months [248001].

The judicial commission arrived at 9:30 a.m., backed by more than a dozen police vans. More than 200 activists had been camped outside since the night before, coordinated by the Tenants' Union (Sindicato de Inquilinas) [248001]. Police began forcing their way into the building after 11:30 a.m., removing protesters one by one. The union accused officers of using pepper spray during the operation [248002][248001].

By 12:30 p.m., officers and a locksmith had reached Maricarmen's apartment to carry out the eviction order [248001]. She was carried out on a stretcher and transferred by ambulance [248001][248002].

A 71-year stay ends

Maricarmen's father signed the original rental contract in 1956, when married women in Spain were legally barred from signing contracts without their husband's permission [248002]. After her father died in 1960, her mother took over the lease. In 2005, after her mother's death, Maricarmen became the leaseholder at age 66 [248002].

She had been paying €500 per month under the old rent contract [248008]. In 2020, a company called Urbagestión bought the apartment and offered her a new contract with a 300% increase — €1,650 per month, which was €200 more than her entire pension [248002]. The company later demanded €2,650 per month [248001].

Urbagestión argued that her contract had expired in 2007 because the second subrogation was never formally registered. A lower court disagreed, but the Supreme Court ruled in the company's favor, clearing the way for eviction [248002].

Last-minute efforts fail

The Tenants' Union reported that Urbagestión rejected a final mediation offer to stop the eviction [248001]. An anonymous writer offered on Tuesday to cover the rent increase, but the property owner did not accept [248001].

The United Nations asked Spain to stop the eviction. The government said it supported the request but could not halt the court order. It tried to mediate and offered to buy the apartment through a public housing program. Urbagestión refused [248002].

A housing decree that would have created permanent anti-eviction protections stalled in Parliament. Podemos and Junts blocked it over unrelated disputes [248002].

Political fallout

Health Minister Mónica García demanded that the government approve a housing decree at the next Council of Ministers meeting. "The PSOE cannot keep delaying it," she wrote on social media. "PP, Junts and Vox cannot vote against it again" [248008].

García, who also leads the party Más Madrid, linked the new law to Maricarmen's case. "No more evicted Maricarmens, no more vulture fund owners making our rights their law of the jungle," she said [248008].

Former Barcelona mayor Ada Colau called on her party, the Comuns, to leave Spain's coalition government if it fails to act against "vulture funds" — investment companies that buy distressed assets, including homes, to profit from them [248004].

"The right has always been a friend of speculators, but the progressive coalition government has not done everything it could," she said [248004].

Protest at luxury attic

The Tenants' Union called a protest for Wednesday evening outside a luxury attic purchased by the Madrid regional government under President Isabel Díaz Ayuso [248005][248001].

"We live in a city and region governed by and for vulture funds, for speculation," said Alicia del Río, a spokesperson for the organization. "We hold Ayuso primarily responsible for this eviction, while she laughs in our face buying a penthouse with our money. But Ayuso's penthouse is for Maricarmen. Public money is for the right to housing, for everyone" [248001].

A growing crisis

The eviction came the same week as a major real estate investment fair opened in Madrid. The District, Spain's largest real estate fair, brought together global investors seeking "business opportunities" in Spain's housing market [248050][246834].

About 20,000 professionals and investors were expected to attend the fair at IFEMA, which organizers said would bring 40 million euros to the city [246834]. Díaz-Ayuso officially opened the event [246834].

The timing drew sharp criticism. As investors discussed returns, families across Madrid and Spain face rising rents and eviction threats [248050].

Home prices in Madrid have risen 12%, forcing buyers to save up to four years of full salary for a down payment. Rents for apartments and rooms can exceed half of a worker's monthly pay. A 100-square-meter home in Madrid costs an average of 400,000 euros, while rent for a similar property averages 2,100 euros per month [246834].

Housing advocates point to the growth of multi-property owners, who have quadrupled since the 2008 crisis and now control 60% of housing [246834].

The eviction of Maricarmen was not an isolated case. In Vallecas, David, 52, and his 21-year-old son were also evicted by police from apartments that the Fundación La Caixa recently sold. David had heart surgery in 2019 and suffers from early-stage depression and anxiety. Both unemployed, they relied on the Minimum Vital Income and continued paying 450 euros in rent even after the contract ended [248007].

The Platform for People Affected by Mortgages (PAH) demands that the funds negotiate with tenants, as they cannot afford the sale prices being asked, which exceed 250,000 euros [248007].

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