87-year-old María del Carmen Abascal was evicted from her Madrid apartment on Sept. 23, 2026, after living there for 71 years. Her rent had risen beyond her €1,350 monthly pension, and nearly 10,000 people protested the eviction.
Urbagestion, an investment fund that acquired the building, raised Abascal’s rent from €500 to €2,650, then lowered it to €1,650—still above her monthly pension. In March 2026, Spain’s Supreme Court overturned a 2022 lower-court ruling in her favor.
On eviction day, Abascal was given 30 minutes to pack and taken from the building on a stretcher. Her lawyer, Beatriz Duro, said an application to suspend the eviction was still pending; in June, the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights urged Spain to stop it and ensure adequate housing. Madrid’s city council and mayor said public services had offered alternatives, including a residential facility; Abascal declined the facility again after the eviction and said she would move in with relatives.
