Maricarmen Abascal, an 87-year-old woman in Madrid, died after her eviction became a symbol of Spain’s housing crisis. She had lived in the same apartment for over 70 years, since her father rented it in 1956. A legal loophole allowed her landlord, investment company Urbagestión, to raise her rent from €500 to €2,650, later reduced to €1,650—still €300 more than her pension. Three earlier eviction attempts had been blocked by courts.
On 23 September, Abascal was forcibly removed from the apartment on a stretcher and later hospitalized. The landlord offered to let her return at a lower rent, but she was unable to sign the agreement. Her case sparked protests and pressure on Spain’s government to pass emergency housing legislation, which Congress rejected. Tens of thousands subsequently protested across Spain, while the Madrid Tenants’ Union described her case as a turning point in the country’s housing crisis.
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>old woman dies
Maricarmen Abascal, an 87-year-old woman in Madrid, died after her eviction became a symbol of Spain’s housing crisis. She had lived in the same apartment for over 70 years, since her father rented it in 1956. A legal loophole allowed her landlord, investment company Urbagestión, to raise her rent from €500 to €2,650, later reduced to €1,650—still €300 more than her pension. Three earlier eviction attempts had been blocked by courts.
On 23 September, Abascal was forcibly removed from the apartment on a stretcher and later hospitalized. The landlord offered to let her return at a lower rent, but she was unable to sign the agreement. Her case sparked protests and pressure on Spain’s government to pass emergency housing legislation, which Congress rejected. Tens of thousands subsequently protested across Spain, while the Madrid Tenants’ Union described her case as a turning point in the country’s housing crisis.