These images are drawing significant attention in Spain: an 87-year-old woman is being forced to leave her Madrid apartment after 71 years. Numerous supporters gathered around the building on Wednesday to try to prevent the eviction. Police cordoned off the street and cleared the area in front of the building before the court officials enforced the eviction order.
Spain Expat Press Editorial Team
by Marlon Gallego Bosbach
Maricarmen Abascal had lived in the apartment at Calle Alcalde Sainz de Baranda 46, in Madrid’s Retiro district, since 1956. For the 87-year-old, the apartment was far more than just a rental property; she had lived there since her youth, and it was there that her parents and brother had passed away. Now, she was forced to leave the home she had occupied for more than seven decades.
The case has since become a symbol of the housing problems facing major Spanish cities. Supporters view it as an example of the increasing displacement of long-term tenants from central neighborhoods. Others, however, point out that it involves a legal dispute over an old lease agreement and that the property owners ultimately prevailed in the Supreme Court.
71 years in the same apartment
Maricarmen moved with her family in 1956 into the apartment in what is now the Retiro district. Her father had signed the lease at the time. It was a so-called “renta antigua” contract—a historic lease agreement offering long-term security of tenure.
The statutory regulations in force at the time play a decisive role in the current dispute. The father was the original party to the contract. After his death, the lease was transferred to his wife. When she, too, died in 2005, the contract ultimately passed to Maricarmen.
It was precisely this second transfer that later became the legal crux of the dispute. Under current law, such a contract cannot be transferred to additional family members an unlimited number of times. The owners therefore argued that Maricarmen no longer had a right to continue the original tenancy.
Maricarmen and her supporters, on the other hand, point to the social and legal conditions prevailing at the time. Her mother could not enter into the original lease agreement herself as an equal contracting party. Had she been registered as a co-tenant back then, the current situation might well have turned out differently.
From the old lease agreement to today’s market rent
The difference between the current rent and the rent being demanded highlights the conflict particularly clearly. Maricarmen had most recently been paying around 500 euros a month. According to current reports, her pension is approximately 1,350 euros per month. The property owners initially demanded a monthly rent of up to 2,650 euros – more than five times what she had been paying and significantly more than her entire monthly pension.
Later, the owners reportedly expressed a willingness to reduce the asking price to 1,650 euros. However, even this amount would have exceeded Maricarmen’s monthly pension. Consequently, continuing the tenancy under these terms was practically unaffordable for the 87-year-old.
The apartment – or rather, the building – had already changed hands several times previously. The complex was sold in 2018. The current owning company, Urbagestión Desarrollo e Inversiones S.L., ultimately prevailed in the legal proceedings. In March 2026, the Tribunal Supremo – Spain’s Supreme Court – ruled in favor of the owners.
Four eviction attempts
The conflict dragged on for years. Maricarmen was originally supposed to leave her apartment as early as 2025. However, the first eviction attempt was prevented – or at least postponed – thanks to the mobilization of neighbors and supporters. Subsequent scheduled dates could not be carried out either. Finally, the fourth and definitive eviction attempt was set for September 23, 2026.
In the days leading up to the scheduled date, the Sindicato de Inquilinas de Madrid – the capital’s tenants’ union – was particularly active in mobilizing support. Under the slogan “Maricarmen se queda” (“Maricarmen stays”), supporters called for a vigil followed by an overnight protest outside the building.
On Tuesday evening, several hundred people gathered on Calle Alcalde Sainz de Baranda. According to the government delegation in Madrid, there were around 400 people.
Prominent figures from the worlds of culture and politics also joined in the support. Among those present were actors Juan Diego Botto and Carlos Bardem, as well as singer and actress Ana Belén.
Police cordon off the street
In the early morning hours of September 23, the police moved in. The National Police cordoned off the area around the building and began removing the tents that had been pitched in front of the house.
A tense atmosphere prevailed among the demonstrators. Supporters continued to chant “Maricarmen se queda” while police attempted to clear a path to the building for the judicial commission. There were also reports of scuffles between security forces and demonstrators.
The Spanish government delegation in Madrid subsequently stated that the police had acted on the basis of a court order in this case. It noted that it does not itself direct the specific police operation. The judicial commission later arrived at the building to carry out the eviction order.
Anonymous supporter wanted to pay the higher rent
Shortly before the scheduled eviction, there was one last, unusual attempt to find a solution. An anonymous writer agreed to cover the difference between Maricarmen’s current rent and the new rent demanded by the property owners. According to the *Sindicato de Inquilinas*, she was willing to contribute up to 2,150 euros per month.
This would have allowed Maricarmen to keep the apartment at her current financial cost. However, the owners did not agree to this proposal. Further proposals by the defense – such as postponing the eviction date on humanitarian grounds or allowing the authorities time to arrange alternative accommodation – also failed to lead to an agreement.
The United Nations also stepped in
The case had already attracted international attention in June. The UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights called on Spain to provisionally suspend the eviction process or to provide the 87-year-old woman with suitable alternative accommodation.
In doing so, the United Nations pointed in particular to the risk of potentially irreparable consequences for Maricarmen. The Spanish Ministry of Housing also called on the competent authorities in Madrid to find a solution, citing the UN’s demand. Nevertheless, the eviction order was carried out this Wednesday.
Maricarmen has to leave her home
In the end, the massive support could not prevent the eviction. Maricarmen had to leave the apartment where she had lived for 71 years. Her physical condition had deteriorated significantly during the years-long legal battle; by this time, the 87-year-old relied on a wheelchair. Following the eviction, she was attended to by social and medical personnel and carried out of the building on a stretcher.
The question of where Maricarmen should live in the future is a particularly contentious issue. The City of Madrid stated that it had involved its social service agency, Samur Social, and offered her various forms of assistance. According to the city, these include support in finding alternative housing, emergency accommodation, and other social services.
However, the Sindicato de Inquilinas criticizes these offers as inadequate. According to the association, the options included accommodation outside Madrid at a cost that would have been barely affordable for Maricarmen. The association further argues that an elderly woman cannot simply be uprooted from her social environment after 71 years.
Retiro: One of Madrid’s sought-after districts
The case does not take place just anywhere in Madrid. Maricarmen lived in the Retiro district, a centrally located and highly sought-after part of the capital.
The address on Calle Alcalde Sainz de Baranda is located near the Ibiza neighborhood, immediately east of the famous Retiro Park. The district is one of Madrid’s established residential areas. Precisely for this reason, the case is particularly charged in the debate over the capital’s development.
For supporters, the issue goes beyond just a single apartment. In Maricarmen’s case, they see a question of who will be able to live in Madrid in the future – and whether people who have lived in a neighborhood for decades can still afford their homes in central locations.
Spain lacks social housing
Moreover, the case arises at a time when Spain is grappling with a significant shortage of affordable and social housing. The new National Housing Plan (2026–2030) itself identifies a structural housing shortage; according to the Spanish government – and the plan – the deficit exceeds 400,000 homes. At the same time, Spain has a comparatively small stock of social housing.
According to these figures, there are only around 318,000 publicly owned housing units at the regional and municipal levels. This corresponds to approximately 1.7 percent of households. The total stock of housing with social rents or rents below market rates is estimated at just around 3.5 percent. By comparison, the EU average is around nine percent, according to the government housing plan.
The state therefore intends to significantly expand its public housing stock. The housing plan envisages, among other things, creating new social and affordable rental housing and securing existing stock for the long term.
This is of great importance for cases like Maricarmen’s: when a long-term tenant loses her apartment and cannot afford a private alternative, the authorities have only a limited stock of truly permanently affordable housing at their disposal.
A case that divides Spain
While images of the eviction have sparked solidarity among many people, public opinion is by no means unanimous.
On one side are neighbors, tenants’ groups, and numerous supporters who view the case as an example of the growing displacement of people from homes they have occupied for years. For them, the focus is on the 87-year-old woman’s personal story: seven decades in the same apartment, her age, a 50 percent disability rating, and a pension that barely covers a market-rate rent. Consequently, there has been a widespread show of solidarity on social media under the slogan “Maricarmen se queda” (Maricarmen is staying). Protests outside her apartment also garnered significant attention.
At the same time, there are significantly more critical voices online. Discussions on platforms like Reddit point out that Maricarmen is legally the tenant of the apartment, not the owner. Some users argue that a low-rent lease held for decades cannot automatically imply that it can be passed on to future generations indefinitely. Others question why the owner should forgo the opportunity to use the apartment at a market-rate price.
This brings two perspectives into conflict: for one side, the right to housing and the protection of a particularly vulnerable elderly person take precedence. The other side points to property rights, existing tenancy laws, and the limitations of historical lease agreements.
Politicians are also arguing about the case
The case has since become a point of political contention. The Spanish Ministry of Housing is pushing for solutions to cases like Maricarmen’s. The government views the incident as an example of how existing protection mechanisms are insufficient when particularly vulnerable people lose their homes.
At the same time, the Madrid authorities point out that they had offered assistance to Maricarmen. Mayor José Luis Martínez-Almeida stated that the city had offered, among other things, social support, home care services, and options for alternative accommodation. In doing so, the city emphasizes that it had not remained idle.
The political debate surrounding the role of the police also illustrates just how charged the case has become. While critics sharply condemned the police operation outside the apartment, the central government delegation pointed out that the police were carrying out a court order.
What remains after the eviction
The eviction is by no means the end of the matter. The focus now shifts to the question of where Maricarmen can live on a permanent basis. At the same time, the conflict highlights a fundamental problem within the Spanish housing market: a vast gap between very low-cost, long-standing leases and today’s sharply higher market prices. Particularly in cities like Madrid, low- and middle-income earners can struggle to find a comparable apartment within their existing neighborhoods.
Maricarmen’s case makes this trend particularly evident. She did not lose her apartment due to standard rent arrears. Instead, the dispute centers on whether a decades-old lease remains valid after multiple transfers, and on how society treats people who are displaced from their familiar surroundings after so many years.
For her supporters, the answer is clear: “Maricarmen se queda” (Maricarmen stays); legally, however, the case was decided differently. The Supreme Court ruled in favor of the property owners – and the eviction was finally carried out this Wednesday.
As a result, 87-year-old Maricarmen remains without her home for the time being. Her case is likely to continue fueling the Spanish debate over tenant protection, social housing, old rental contracts, and rising housing costs in major cities.
