Thousands marched in Madrid on Saturday after 87-year-old María del Carmen Abascal was evicted from her longtime apartment on Wednesday, calling for tenant protections, anti-fraud rules and a ban on evictions unless alternative housing is available.
The tenants' union said building ownership changed in 2018; Abascal was offered a chance to buy but could not afford it. The union said Urbagestión, an investment fund that later bought the apartment, raised her monthly rent from 500 euros to 2,650 euros, then cut it to 1,650 euros, still beyond her pension. Courts had blocked three previous eviction attempts. From her hospital bed, Abascal said in a video shared by the union that she had fought so others could learn to defend what was theirs.
The Bank of Spain estimated that Spain had a shortage of about 550,000 homes last year, with Madrid, Barcelona and Valencia accounting for a substantial share. Public rentals make up less than 2% of the country's available housing supply, versus an 8% European Union average.
