Maricarmen Abascal, an 87-year-old woman who uses a wheelchair, was forced out of her Madrid apartment last week by a real estate company. Police entered her home after a judge approved the eviction. Protesters, including actor Carlos Bardem, gathered outside the building, and teargas was used against them. Ms Abascal was taken to a Madrid hospital suffering from anxiety and extreme exhaustion.
Demonstrations of solidarity with Ms Abascal have since erupted across Spain, with protest encampments appearing in Madrid's Puerta del Sol square, as well as in Bilbao and Málaga. Her case has sparked a national protest movement and calls for urgent political action regarding Spain's housing crisis.
In Ms Abascal's case, the real estate company Urbagestión bought her apartment in 2018, ending her rent-controlled arrangement. Her rent was initially increased from €500 a month to €2,650. While she was in hospital, an agreement was reached for her to return home, with a monthly rent similar to what she had paid for years, around €500.
The Spanish government has now introduced a new housing bill. This bill proposes to ban evictions of vulnerable tenants until 2030, limit rent increases for two years, and ban investment funds from purchasing houses for two years.