The eviction of 87-year-old Maricarmen Abascal from her Madrid apartment has ignited a national protest movement and forced Spain's government to introduce a new housing bill. Abascal, who uses a wheelchair, was removed from the home she had lived in for over 70 years after police forced their way in following a judge's approval. She was taken to a hospital suffering from anxiety and extreme exhaustion, while supporters, including actor Carlos Bardem, gathered outside and chanted “You are not alone.”
Nationwide Solidarity and Political Response
Demonstrations of solidarity with Abascal and “all the other Maricarmens” have since erupted across Spain, with protest encampments appearing at Puerta del Sol square in Madrid, as well as in Bilbao and Málaga. The case highlights the broader housing crisis, with an average of 44 eviction orders a day in the first quarter of 2026, mostly related to rent disputes. While evictions are declining—from over 68,000 in 2014 to about 24,000 in 2025—many young people and pensioners still struggle to pay rent or buy a home, especially in prosperous cities.
In Abascal's case, the real estate company Urbagestión bought her apartment in 2018, ending her rent-controlled arrangement and raising her rent from €500 a month to €2,650, beyond what her pension could cover. The Spanish supreme court upheld Urbagestión’s claim that the tenancy was invalid due to two transfers, though the original 1956 contract was signed by her father under Franco’s discriminatory laws against women. After mediation by Madrid city council, an agreement was reached for her to return home with a monthly rent of about €500.
Government Action and Political Constraints
The case reflects how property companies profit from vulnerable tenants and highlights politicians' failure to protect the constitutional right to “decent and adequate” housing. On Tuesday, Pedro Sánchez’s minority coalition introduced a new housing bill that would ban evictions of vulnerable tenants until 2030, limit rent hikes for two years, and ban investment funds from purchasing houses for two years. The bill needs parliamentary approval within a month.
Sánchez’s reliance on support from various parties since 2023 has limited his options. His leftwing coalition partner, Sumar, had pushed for reforms, but Sánchez had shelved them fearing parliamentary rejection. The uproar is forcing his hand, even if it means including tax breaks sought by Junts, a rightwing nationalist Catalan party. Madrid’s conservative regional and municipal governments were slow to offer alternatives to Abascal, using the case to attack the national government. The regional government, led by Isabel Díaz Ayuso, has refused to apply existing national law to limit rent increases for three years.
Call for Urgent Attention
Spain’s decentralised system allows politicians to do the minimum and blame each other while individuals suffer. Spaniards repeatedly identify housing as the country’s biggest problem, but it has not received intense political attention. Sánchez recently visited Zohran Mamdani, the New York mayor, who is becoming a reference point for the left in Spain. Mamdani supports solutions across the ideological spectrum, from constructing new apartment buildings to taxing real estate investment funds, and works with private developers on projects like Sunnyside Yard in Queens.
There are no magic bullets on housing; fixing it requires hard work, smart planning, laser focus, and an open mind. Winning progressive politicians have only now started treating this problem with urgency. Abascal’s eviction may prompt a new era in housing policy, but change will have come at a high price. It should not take the forcible eviction of an 87-year-old woman for the corrosive effects of unaffordable housing to be taken seriously.
