UN to Spain: Stop eviction of 87-year-old woman or offer housing

The United Nations has given Spain until December to report on measures taken to prevent the eviction of Maricarmen, an 87-year-old woman from Madrid who has lived in her home for over 70 years. The UN is asking that the eviction be suspended while it reviews the case, or that the state provide her with adequate alternative housing. The request comes from the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. It follows a complaint filed by Maricarmen’s lawyer, Beatriz Duro, working with the Madrid Tenants’ Union. The committee has informed the court of the complaint and asked for a suspension or a housing solution. Maricarmen has been fighting for more than five years against the investment fund Urbagestión, which bought her building in 2018. The fund wants to evict her to speculate on the property. She has lived in the home almost her entire life. After her father died when she was young, the property passed to her mother under Franco-era laws. When her mother died, Maricarmen could not benefit from older rent-control rules. The next eviction attempt is set for June 24. It will be the third try. The first attempt was stopped in October 2025 after public pressure. The second was postponed on June 3, which the Tenants’ Union called a “blunt attempt” to weaken the public support for Maricarmen. The judge now has the power to stop the eviction while the UN reviews the complaint, to prevent “irreparable harm” to Maricarmen. The Tenants’ Union says that if the eviction goes ahead on June 24, it would be illegal under international treaties that Spain has signed. After the first eviction was stopped, several groups sent a dossier to the Ministry of Housing with possible solutions. Maricarmen also wrote a letter to Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez. Neither received a reply. The Tenants’ Union also says that neither the Madrid regional government, led by Isabel Díaz Ayuso, nor the Madrid city council, led by José Luis Martínez-Almeida, has offered any housing alternative.