Tens of Thousands Protest Madrid Housing Crisis After Elderly Tenant’s Eviction

Tens of thousands of people marched through central Madrid on Saturday to protest Spain’s housing crisis, days after 87-year-old Maricarmen Abascal was evicted from the apartment where she had lived for decades.

Demonstrators called for stronger tenant protections, measures against housing fraud and a ban on evictions when no alternative accommodation is available. Authorities estimated attendance at about 25,000, while the Madrid Tenants’ Union, which organized the demonstration, put the figure above 300,000.

Abascal was removed on a stretcher Wednesday from her home in Madrid’s Retiro neighborhood and taken to an ambulance as supporters gathered outside. Spanish media reported that her father began renting the apartment in 1956 and that she remained there after her parents died. Courts had previously blocked three attempts to evict her.

According to the tenants’ union, Abascal could not afford to buy the apartment when the building changed ownership in 2018. According to the union, investment fund Urbagestión later acquired the unit and raised her monthly rent from €500 to €2,650 before reducing it to €1,650, which remained beyond what she could pay from her pension.

After the march, some protesters erected tents in Puerta del Sol. The Bank of Spain estimated the country was short about 550,000 homes last year, while rising rents have increased pressure on tenants in major cities including Madrid, Barcelona and Valencia.