For 87-year-old Maricarmen, a home she had lived in for 70 years became unaffordable after the real estate firm that owned her apartment raised her monthly rent by 275%.Her eviction from the Madrid property on Wednesday, carried out as she was taken away on a stretcher, has now become a focal point in Spain’s long-running housing crisis.The eviction, broadcast live on television, drew protesters who surrounded Maricarmen as police escorted her from the property.According to news agency AFP, Thousands later took to the streets in Madrid, Barcelona and other cities, protesting both her eviction and housing costs that have increasingly put homes beyond the reach of renters and buyers.The episode has also intensified a political dispute over Spain’s housing policies ahead of next year’s general election.
Housing costs rise as affordable supply remains limited
Housing costs have increased sharply across Spain over the past decade. The average price of a square metre for both rental and purchase properties has risen by around 50%, according to real estate portal Idealista and official figures.Madrid has been particularly affected by rising prices. The city has topped a global ranking for luxury properties compiled by real estate firm Barnes for two consecutive years.The housing pressure extends beyond the luxury segment. Spain’s consumer group OCU said finding an apartment in Madrid or Barcelona for less than 700 euros a month had become “extremely difficult” and called for more affordable rental housing.A major issue is the limited size of Spain’s public housing stock. Only 1.2% of the country’s housing stock is publicly owned, according to OECD figures. The proportion is substantially lower than in countries including Britain, France and the Netherlands.Residents have also blamed short-term tourist rentals such as Airbnb for pushing up prices and reducing the supply of homes available to residents. The issue has prompted large protests in popular tourist destinations including Barcelona.Investment funds have also faced criticism from housing campaigners, who refer to some of them as “vulture funds” and accuse them of prioritising profits over affordability.
Maricarmen’s eviction becomes political flashpoint
The eviction has quickly become part of Spain’s political debate, with parties preparing their positions ahead of next year’s general election.Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez blamed the conservative-run Madrid city and regional authorities for their role in the eviction and described it as an unacceptable “social tragedy”.The Madrid region’s Popular Party leader Isabel Diaz Ayuso rejected the criticism, accusing the national government of “demagoguery” and saying it had “not done anything” during Sanchez’s eight years in office.The dispute reflects the division of responsibilities over housing in Spain. While the leftist national government has spent years seeking to reform the housing market, regional authorities hold much of the power over housing policy.Guillermo Fernandez Vazquez, a professor at Madrid’s Carlos III University, told AFP that the incident had again exposed what he described as the failure and “powerlessness” of housing policies.In a context of “inflation and loss of purchasing power”, he said, the situation did not benefit any political party.
Government pushes for eviction law as coalition faces pressure
Sanchez has called on parliament to pass legislation that would prohibit such evictions. However, his coalition does not have a majority and the incident has already exposed strains within the governing alliance.Far-left coalition partner Sumar has called for a rent freeze and the expropriation of Maricarmen’s former home.Her lawyer, Beatriz Duro, told public broadcaster RTVE that there was currently “no legal umbrella that enables the suspension of the eviction of vulnerable people”.She said protections introduced through royal decrees had repeatedly served as temporary measures but were ultimately “sticking plasters and insufficient”.The political debate is also unfolding against a separate controversy involving Ayuso and a luxury Madrid penthouse that she allegedly acquired with public money. Ayuso denies wrongdoing.According to Fernandez Vazquez, the Popular Party will also want to move beyond that controversy as quickly as possible.For Spain’s housing market, however, Maricarmen’s eviction has brought together several of the issues at the centre of the crisis — rising rents, limited public housing, pressure from investment and tourism, and disagreements between national and regional authorities over how to respond.
