+34
Spain's coalition government agreed to ban evictions until 2030 and curb housing speculation after the eviction of 87-year-old Maricarmen Abascal triggered nationwide protests. Abascal accepted a deal to return home at about 500 euros a month.
Spain's coalition government has agreed to ban evictions until 2030 and curb property speculation after the forced removal of an 87-year-old woman triggered nationwide protests.
Maricarmen Abascal Agrees to Rent Deal
Maricarmen Abascal, who has lived in her Madrid apartment for more than 70 of her 87 years, accepted a preliminary agreement on Tuesday to return home. Under the deal mediated by Madrid city council, Abascal will pay about 500 euros, or 811 dollars, a month, equivalent to 30 per cent of her pension over the next eight years. The monthly rent will be similar to the amount she has paid for years.
Her lawyer, Beatriz Duro, said: She should never have been forced to leave. I hope this case serves to provide a collective response to the housing crisis. Abascal uses a wheelchair and was carried out of her home on a stretcher on 23 September 2026. She was taken to a Madrid hospital suffering from anxiety and extreme exhaustion as teargas was used against supporters.
Crowds chanted: You are not alone. Protest encampments have since sprung up at Puerta del Sol in Madrid and across Spain. Hundreds of people remained camped in one of Madrid's main squares on Tuesday. Protesters are demanding legal reforms including a rent freeze, the automatic renewal of leases without abusive rent hikes, and a ban on the speculative housing market they say is ruled by private equity vulture funds.
Madrid's tenants' union criticised the decision to split the measures into two decrees and said encampments would continue until all demands are met, with further demonstrations planned. Health minister Monica Garcia said the ruling Socialists reached an agreement with junior partner Sumar on Tuesday for new measures, including rolling over contracts until 2028 and banning so-called vulture funds from the housing market.
Government Bans Vulture Funds and Speculation
She said in a post on X: It is time to intervene in the speculative housing market and start striking a balance between ordinary citizens and vulture funds. The minority government faces an uphill battle to secure support in a fragmented parliament. The measures will be divided into two decrees to be voted on later this week, with the majority in a first decree.
Social affairs minister Pablo Bustinduy said the final sticking point of automatic contract rollover is in a second decree. Housing minister Isabel Rodriguez told a news conference the government was seeking to broaden the definition of a vulture fund beyond large private equity funds to any fund or company that buys housing for speculation. She named Urbagestion, the small company that evicted Abascal, as an example of a firm that might fall into that category.
Urbagestion, which owns the apartment, won its case when the Spanish supreme court upheld its claim that the tenancy was invalid because it had been transferred twice, first to Maricarmen's mother and later to her. The original 1956 contract was signed by her father under Franco's rule.
The Catalan pro-independence party Junts, which would need to back the decree for it to pass, said on Tuesday it was still far from agreeing on all measures and wanted protection for small landlords, who make up the vast majority of property owners in Spain. Junts parliamentary spokesperson Miriam Nogueras said on RTVE: We all agreed that evictions, where the property is owned by a fund, a vulture fund, run by someone managing millions of euros, obviously need to be stopped.
Junts Party Demands Small Landlord Protection
She added: Lumping together in this category those who have invested their savings in a flat, a restaurant or a property, putting them all in the same basket, is a mistake. The centre-left governing coalition had failed to change the law to protect the most vulnerable tenants from eviction and to push through comprehensive housing reforms.
It has introduced a new housing bill that would ban evictions of vulnerable tenants until 2030, limit rent hikes for two years and ban investment funds purchasing houses for two years. The bill now needs approval by parliament within a month. Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez's reliance on the support of a range of parties since 2023 has limited his room for manoeuvre.
Sumar had pushed for reforms to prevent cases such as Abascal's, but Sanchez had shelved the proposals until now, fearing rejection in parliament. The latest uproar is forcing his hand, even if it means including tax breaks. Thousands of people are evicted from their homes in Spain every year. In the first quarter of 2026 alone there were, on average, 44 eviction orders a day.
Evictions are actually in decline and are now about a third of what they were after the financial crisis. In 2014 there were more than 68,000 evictions compared with about 24,000 in 2025. Spain is one of the fastest-growing economies in the west, with employment and consumer data defying global economic uncertainty. But many young people and poorer older people surviving on pensions struggle to pay rent or buy a home, especially in the most prosperous cities.
Abascal's case reflects how property companies, banks and hedge funds profit from vulnerable tenants and their once-affordable homes. It is also a reminder of the failure of politicians to protect the right to decent and adequate housing enshrined in the Spanish constitution since 1978. Madrid's regional and municipal governments, in the hands of the conservatives, were slow to offer alternatives to Abascal until she was evicted, using the case instead to attack the national government.
Madrid Government Criticised Over Housing Inaction
For the past three years the Madrid regional government, led by the conservative Isabel Diaz Ayuso, has refused to repeatedly identify housing. Spain's highly decentralised system, with power divided at local, regional and national level, is once again the perfect cover for politicians to do the minimum and blame each other while individuals suffer. A few days ago Sanchez visited New York mayor Zohran Mamdani, who is becoming a point of reference for the left in Spain and across Europe.
Instead of trying to imitate his videos or his charm, fellow progressives could emulate his relentless focus on housing. Mamdani supports solutions across the ideological spectrum, from pushing for the construction of new apartment buildings to taxing real estate investment funds. He supports public housing and protections for tenants in rent-controlled apartments, but also works with private developers, even exchanging pleasantries with Donald Trump to advance a proposal for a large urban development. There are no magic bullets on housing.
Fixing it will require hard work, smart planning, laser focus and an open mind. Winning progressive politicians have only now started treating this problem with the urgency it deserves. Will Abascal's eviction prompt a new era in housing policy in Spain? If it happens, change will have come at a high price.
It should not take the forcible eviction of an 87-year-old woman who just wants to remain in her home for the corrosive effects of unaffordable housing to be taken seriously.
SBSNews 
GuardianAus:It shouldn’t take the eviction of an 87-year-old to get Spain’s housing crisis fixed | María RamírezThis story was compiled and edited by the HeadTopics newsroom and HT AI from the reports above.
Maricarmen Abascal Eviction Vulture Funds Ban Madrid Protests Affordable Housing Policy
Australia Latest News, Australia Headlines
Similar News: You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
EU Needs to Rearm Faster as Russia Not Interested in Peace, Kallas SaysEU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas says Europe must rearm more quickly to meet its 2030 target, as Russia shows no interest in peace and attacks on Ukraine continue.
Read more »
England's Box Activity Inadequate Against Spain's Efficient Penalty Area PlayEngland's high number of touches in Spain's penalty area failed to produce quality chances, while Spain's disciplined approach yielded more valuable shots. The match highlights the importance of efficient usage of the box over sheer activity.
Read more »
Spain Approves Housing Measures to Ban Evictions for Vulnerable Tenants Until 2030Spain's coalition government approved measures including banning evictions of vulnerable people until 2030, after outrage over the eviction of 87-year-old Maricarmen Abascal, who now may return home.
Read more »
UEFA Nations League: Scotland vs Switzerland and Spain vs Croatia Kick-OffsCoverage of seven 7.45pm BST Nations League matches including Scotland facing Switzerland and Spain playing Croatia, with team lineups and match updates.
Read more »