Spain Housing Crisis: How 87-Year-Old Maricarmen’s Eviction Sparked a Nationwide Uprising

The Spain housing crisis has found an unlikely face. This week, one name has dominated conversations across the country: Maricarmen. The 87-year-old woman’s removal from the home she lived in for seven decades has triggered a remarkable wave of public solidarity and forced the nation to confront one of its most urgent problems, the struggle to find an affordable place to live.

A Country Takes to the Streets

On Saturday, tens of thousands of people marched through Madrid in protest. Some stayed overnight in Puerta del Sol, and on Sunday they were joined by more demonstrators, including families spanning several generations.

Their demands were straightforward:

• Stronger legal protections for tenants
• A ban on evictions when no alternative housing is available nearby

The anger was not limited to the capital. Solidarity protests also broke out in Barcelona, Seville and Valencia.

Who Is Maricarmen?

María del Carmen Abascal, known to everyone as Maricarmen, lived in an apartment on Alcalde Sainz de Baranda Street in Madrid’s El Retiro neighbourhood. She moved there in 1956 as a child, grew up there with her parents and later inherited their lease.

Her lawyer, Beatriz Duro, confirmed she had called the flat home for more than 70 years.

Last Wednesday, that chapter ended. Dozens of supporters had gathered outside her building the night before, hoping to block the eviction, but it went ahead anyway. That same afternoon, around 10,000 people, according to government officials in Madrid, rallied in the city to voice their outrage.

Straight From Home to Hospital

Immediately after being removed from her apartment, Maricarmen was taken on a stretcher to Gregorio Marañón Hospital, where she is expected to stay for a few days while undergoing medical tests.

From her hospital bed, she recorded a video message for her supporters. She admitted she had been unable to save her own home but said she had fought so others would learn to defend theirs. Her apartment, she explained, had been her whole life, yet leaving it would not stop her from continuing the fight. She urged everyone to keep resisting and thanked them warmly for their support.

How the Battle Began

For years, Maricarmen paid around 500 euros a month under an old-style rental contract. Everything changed in March 2018, when property company Urbagestión Desarrollo e Inversión bought the entire building for 247,000 euros.

According to the Madrid Tenants’ Union, the new owner soon began demanding rent up to four times higher. With a monthly pension of only about 1,300 euros, that increase was far beyond her means.

A Long Legal Fight

The dispute moved into the courts in March 2020, when the company sued to end her lease. What followed was years of back-and-forth:

• Maricarmen won in the lower court
• The company appealed and the Provincial Court sided with it
• Her lawyer’s appeals to the Supreme Court and Constitutional Court were both rejected
• The company then sought enforcement, leading to as many as four eviction attempts

Her legal team managed several delays. In October 2025, a legal provision applying to corporate landlords paused the eviction for four months. In June 2026, it was suspended again for nearly a month due to her vulnerability and lack of alternative housing.

Attempts at Compromise Failed

Behind the scenes, her supporters tried to find a solution. Mediation was attempted through Casa 47, the state housing agency, with the idea of buying the apartment and renting it back to her at a fair price. The day before the eviction, an anonymous donor even offered to cover part of her rent.

According to her lawyer, the company rejected every option. Urbagestión has not responded to requests for comment.

Duro described the current situation as desperate, noting that Maricarmen has nowhere to go and has received no housing offer from public authorities.

On Friday, the company approached Madrid’s municipal housing agency, EMVS, proposing that the flat be included in a program that returns empty homes to the rental market, which could allow Maricarmen to rent it affordably. City Hall rejected the idea, saying it did not meet legal requirements, but offered a mediation meeting between both sides on Monday.

The Bigger Picture: A Nation Priced Out

Maricarmen’s story struck a nerve because so many people in Spain recognise their own struggles in it. Protests over housing have grown steadily in recent years, particularly in major cities.

The numbers help explain the frustration. Data from property portal Idealista shows:

• Madrid rents have almost doubled in ten years, from 12.8 euros per square metre in August 2016 to 23.3 euros in August 2026
• Purchase prices have soared from 2,839 euros to 6,471 euros per square metre over the same period

Meanwhile, the average Spanish salary in 2024 was about 29,540 euros a year. Renting a modest 50-square-metre flat in Madrid would therefore cost around 13,980 euros annually, close to half of that income. UN-Habitat considers housing affordable only when it takes up less than 30% of earnings.

The Bank of Spain blames much of the problem on a shortage of roughly 755,000 homes, a gap it warns could reach one million by 2028.

A Political Blame Game

Unsurprisingly, politicians have seized on the case.

At a Socialist Party rally on Sunday, Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez spoke directly to Maricarmen, promising that his government was working nonstop to bring forward a housing decree on Tuesday. He urged parliamentary groups to back it for her sake.

Maricarmen herself has been critical of Sánchez. In an interview with state broadcaster RTVE shortly before her eviction, she questioned whether he truly understood, or chose to ignore, how many evictions happen every day.

The central government says it tried to buy her home through Casa 47 and accuses regional and local authorities of doing nothing. Madrid regional president Isabel Díaz Ayuso pushed back, pointing out that the eviction was carried out by national police under a law the government has had years to change.

Coalition partner Sumar has gone further, calling for the apartment to be expropriated. Deputy Prime Minister Yolanda Díaz and minister Pablo Bustinduy want the new housing decree approved quickly to freeze rents and stop evictions like this one.

A Symbol of a Wider Struggle

Maricarmen may have lost her home, but her story has given a human face to a crisis affecting millions. Whether it leads to lasting change will depend on what politicians do next. For now, her message to the country is simple: keep fighting.