Dramatic eviction of woman aged 87 highlights Spain's housing shortage

ByGuy Hedgecoe Reporting fromMadrid.

Key points

• Nevertheless, the business that purchased the property in 2018, Urbagestión, cited a legal glitch allowing it to raise her rent from €500 (£428; $572) to €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.
• Supporters of Maricarmen camped outside the building on Tuesday night, joined by celebrities including Javier Bardem's brother, Carlos, and the singer Ana Belén.
• In Madrid, rentals have rose by more than 100% over the last decade, according to property site Idealista, with a 10% rise over the last year.
• In June, the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights pressed the pensioner's eviction to be halted and for her to be offered affordable alternative accommodation.

Meanwhile, 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.

Notably, 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.

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.

Three previous attempts to evict her were blocked by the courts and the case has received increasing media 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. This person read out the poem Desahucio (Eviction) by Rafael Alberti.

For context, a number of hundred residents, mostly youngsters, had gathered by the morning in a bid to prevent the eviction from taking place, chanting "Maricarmen stays". Some activists blocked the stairs inside the building.

In a video posted on social media, a tearful Maricarmen thanked those who had come out to backing her against "this cruel struggle by someone who wants to earn money". The hard men removing squatters in Spain. Taking back Barcelona's apartments. 'Sometimes I want to cry': Eviction in a pandemic.

Police cordoned off a section of the street and removed individuals from the entrance to the building, including members of the media, striking some protesters with batons.

Meanwhile, 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."

"There is a police deployment as if this were a military operation, " remarked Beatriz Duro, Maricarmen's lawyer. "This is the fourth time but the first time they've come right to the door of the property. It's completely disproportionate."

In June, the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights pressed the pensioner's eviction to be halted and for her to be offered affordable alternative accommodation. The local administration stated she had declined its offer of a place in an elderly care home.

Notably, the central administration stated Urbagestión had refused its repeated attempts to negotiate Maricarmen's situation. The BBC has attempted to contact the firm.

For context, the possibility of a last-minute reprieve for Maricarmen appeared when an anonymous donor offered to pay most of her rent. Nevertheless, Urbagestión reportedly rejected the offer and the eviction went ahead.

"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, " remarked Housing Minister Teresa Rodríguez.

Meanwhile, a shortage of available housing has been blamed for soaring rental costs over recent years. It have left millions of Spaniards struggling to find affordable homes.

For context, the Socialist-led administration of Pedro Sánchez has frequently targeted businesses whose investment pushes up housing costs. In January, the prime minister remarked he aimed to "protect those who are most exposed to that speculation and that greed".

Nevertheless, some critics of the administration say it needs to work harder to build new homes, and others warn that its rhetoric discourages plenty of owners from placing their properties on the rental market.

For now, dramatic eviction of woman aged 87 highlights Spain' s housing shortage remains the part of the story worth watching, and further updates are likely as more details are confirmed.