Evicted 87-Year-Old Madrid Pensioner to Return Home After Deal Sparked by Protests

Madrid Pensioner Wins Return to 70-Year Home

Maricarmen Abascal is heading back to her apartment of 70 years.

Her lawyer secured an agreement with the property owners, abruptly defusing a focal point of nationwide protests against runaway housing costs. Abascal, an 87-year-old wheelchair user, was removed on a stretcher from her apartment last Wednesday. She became a symbol of the protest against runaway housing prices and a lack of tenant protections.

Her case galvanized public anger over unaffordable urban living costs. It sparked demonstrations, including an encampment of roughly 100 tents in Madrid’s Puerta del Sol square since Saturday night.

“If this agreement we have reached is signed, it will obviously be a better and happier outcome for everyone,” said Beatriz Duro, Abascal’s lawyer, who described the settlement as “a result of the social mobilisation.”

Rent Hikes Spark Mass Protests Across Spain

Supporters stated that the real estate firm owning the apartment in Madrid’s upmarket Retiro neighborhood had hiked Abascal’s monthly rent by 275 percent to 2,650 euros, or roughly $3,000, despite her long history of paying rent. Duro noted that the breakthrough followed “goodwill from both parties” and that the new rent would be “similar to what she had been paying.”

Abascal is slated to return to the apartment after she is discharged from the hospital, where she has been receiving treatment for exhaustion. Duro stated that the aim is to “accelerate the procedures” for her return.

The outcry has piled pressure on Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez’s government. Officials are seeking agreement on a new housing package to present to the cabinet to placate public anger.

Carlota, a 29-year-old protester who spent Sunday night in Puerta del Sol, captured the mood of the demonstrations.

“We are living through a serious situation in Spain right now,” she said, calling for “an end to putting capital and investment funds before people.”

Barcelona Rallies Demand Structural Reform

Parallel demonstrations erupted elsewhere in the country. In Barcelona, approximately 2,000 protesters gathered on Monday night to demand ambitious measures during a visit by Prime Minister Sánchez.

“We have come here to tell him that we don’t want a sham decree,” said Carme Arcarazo, a spokeswoman for the Catalan Tenants’ Union. “We don’t want sticking plasters… we want decent housing so that what happened to Maricarmen doesn’t happen again.”

Arcarazo is pressing for a rent freeze, indefinite rental contracts, and anti-eviction measures.

Passing new legislation remains an uphill battle. The ruling Socialist party is holding negotiations with far-left junior coalition partners Sumar and other parliamentary factions. However, the coalition lacks a majority in parliament, throwing the success of any new housing initiative into question, particularly after a similar housing bill was defeated earlier this year.

A Decade-Long Squeeze on the Property Market

The public demonstrations highlight a decade-long squeeze in Spain’s property market. Average rental prices per square metre across the country have nearly doubled over the past ten years, hitting 15.10 euros per square metre in August, according to data from real estate portal Idealista. Property purchase prices have risen more than 50 percent over the same period to 2,355 euros.

“It’s a jungle, it’s impossible to become fully independent without flat-sharing,” Laura Requena, a 32-year-old teacher, said during the Barcelona protest. “We can’t make ends meet while having to pay a rent.”

Market analysts attribute the soaring costs to a combination of factors. The Bank of Spain estimates that the country of roughly 50 million residents faces a housing deficit of 700,000 homes, driven by the gap between demand and new construction. Meanwhile, public housing stock remains minimal, and prices continue to face upward pressure from tourism and population growth linked to immigration.