The woman whose eviction sparked protests in Spain has died
Madrid resident Maricarmen Abascal, whose eviction from her apartment in Spain triggered mass protests, has died in a hospital at the age of 87, the Madrid Tenants' Union reported on Wednesday, October 7.
Abascal had lived in the apartment in the Spanish capital for 70 years and for years paid 500 euros for it. In 2018, a new company became the owner of the property and raised the rent to a level exceeding her pension.
On September 23, she was evicted from the apartment. Euronews explains that the eviction, following a dispute lasting many years, was authorized by a court and was carried out on the basis of a valid court ruling. Nevertheless, numerous opponents of the eviction gathered around the pensioner's home. Police broke through the ring of demonstrators, and paramedics who arrived took Maricarmen Abascal to a clinic. At the time, it was reported that her life was not in danger.
What happened provoked mass protests in Spain in defense of Abascal, and on September 28 her representatives reached an agreement with the property owners, under which she was granted an eight-year lease with a monthly payment of one third of her pension — about 410 euros. The demonstrations, however, continued.
On October 5, Spanish Prime Minister, the socialist Pedro Sánchez, announced the dissolution of parliament and the holding of early elections on November 29, 2026. He justified his decision by the critical situation that developed after parliament's decision to reject the government's housing market reform.
After the dissolution of parliament, on October 6, the Spanish cabinet decided to implement the housing legislation it had approved, despite parliament's disagreement. Sánchez recalled that deputies would no longer be able to block the law, since parliament had been dissolved early for having "turned its back on the needs of the people."
The new housing law provides for the allocation of hundreds of millions of euros from the budget for the construction of cheap social housing, prohibits the forcible eviction of tenants until 2030, and bars large housing companies from buying up apartments for three years. It proposes introducing increased taxes on apartments rented out to tourists, in order to encourage the transfer of such housing to the long-term rental market.
The total cost of renting rooms in shared apartments must not exceed the cost of that apartment when rented to a single person. The draft promises tax breaks for low-income tenants and provides for a sharp increase in taxes on vacant private apartments. It also introduces tenants' right to automatic renewal of contracts, that is, in effect the possibility of lifelong tenancy, regardless of the wishes of the apartment owners.
The right-wing opposition criticized both the reform proposed by Sánchez and the decision to adopt it without parliament's approval.
Details of the dispute over Abascal's apartment
Maricarmen Abascal had lived in Retiro, one of the most prestigious and expensive districts of Madrid, since 1956. The apartment was rented by her father, an entrepreneur, at a price that was regulated under the dictatorship of Francisco Franco. In 2006, the woman was orphaned and began living alone, and the owners of the housing offered her to sign a new rental contract. She could not inherit the old one with a monthly payment of 500 euros — in accordance with the liberal legislation introduced after the collapse of the dictatorship in 1975.
The old landlords put up with Abascal's refusal to pay the increased price, but the company that bought the apartment in 2018 insisted on a rent amount in line with market prices.
Source: DW
