10 hours ago
https://www.thenewdaily.com.au/news/worl...booted-out
Spain says it will ban housing evictions until 2030 after an 87-year-old woman being booted from her home sparked massive protests amid a national housing crisis. Tens of thousands of people have taken to the streets in Madrid to demand protective measures for tenants and a ban on evictions without alternative housing.
Maria del Carmen Abascal, 87, was last week dramatically booted out of the home she had lived in for decades after her rent rose €1840 ($3500) a month, which she could not afford. Abascal was greeted by protesters and supporters as she was loaded into an ambulance after being taken out of her home in Madrid’s upscale Retiro neighbourhood on a stretcher.
Spanish media reported that Abascal’s father first rented the property in 1956. She remained as the tenant after her parents died, during which time there was a rent cap. In 2028, the building changed ownership, and Abascal was given the choice to buy the apartment. The Madrid Tenants’ Union, which organised the protest, said she couldn’t afford it.
Urbagestion, an investment fund that later bought the unit, raised her monthly rent from €500 ($810) to €2650 ($4293). It subsequently lowered the rent to €1650 ($2700), which Abascal still could not afford on her pension, the union said.
Courts had blocked three previous attempts to evict her. Extensive media coverage turned Abascal into a symbol of Spain’s housing crisis.
“This whole housing situation is heartbreaking. Maricarmen has been, in a way, the last straw that sparked this social unrest, but we’ve been dealing with this whole issue for a long time now,” said protester Simon de la Riva, 43, a teacher. “It’s unacceptable that vulture funds are buying up homes, that people can’t afford to live, that entire families are being evicted, and that an elderly woman has been evicted.”
Spain’s coalition government announced new measures in response, including the eviction ban that it said would help five million people. The decrees have immediate effect but have to be approved by Congress.
Rising costs and a housing shortage are pricing many Spaniards out of the market, despite strong economic growth in Europe’s fourth-largest economy. Incomes have not kept pace.
Analysts say tourism and immigration-driven population growth in cities have placed further pressure on the limited housing supply. The Bank of Spain estimated the country had a shortage of about 550,000 homes last year, with Madrid, Barcelona and Valencia accounting for a substantial share.
Spain ranks near the bottom of countries in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development for public rental housing, which represents less than 2 per cent of its available supply. The European Union average is 8 per cent.
Spain says it will ban housing evictions until 2030 after an 87-year-old woman being booted from her home sparked massive protests amid a national housing crisis. Tens of thousands of people have taken to the streets in Madrid to demand protective measures for tenants and a ban on evictions without alternative housing.
Maria del Carmen Abascal, 87, was last week dramatically booted out of the home she had lived in for decades after her rent rose €1840 ($3500) a month, which she could not afford. Abascal was greeted by protesters and supporters as she was loaded into an ambulance after being taken out of her home in Madrid’s upscale Retiro neighbourhood on a stretcher.
Spanish media reported that Abascal’s father first rented the property in 1956. She remained as the tenant after her parents died, during which time there was a rent cap. In 2028, the building changed ownership, and Abascal was given the choice to buy the apartment. The Madrid Tenants’ Union, which organised the protest, said she couldn’t afford it.
Urbagestion, an investment fund that later bought the unit, raised her monthly rent from €500 ($810) to €2650 ($4293). It subsequently lowered the rent to €1650 ($2700), which Abascal still could not afford on her pension, the union said.
Courts had blocked three previous attempts to evict her. Extensive media coverage turned Abascal into a symbol of Spain’s housing crisis.
“This whole housing situation is heartbreaking. Maricarmen has been, in a way, the last straw that sparked this social unrest, but we’ve been dealing with this whole issue for a long time now,” said protester Simon de la Riva, 43, a teacher. “It’s unacceptable that vulture funds are buying up homes, that people can’t afford to live, that entire families are being evicted, and that an elderly woman has been evicted.”
Spain’s coalition government announced new measures in response, including the eviction ban that it said would help five million people. The decrees have immediate effect but have to be approved by Congress.
Rising costs and a housing shortage are pricing many Spaniards out of the market, despite strong economic growth in Europe’s fourth-largest economy. Incomes have not kept pace.
Analysts say tourism and immigration-driven population growth in cities have placed further pressure on the limited housing supply. The Bank of Spain estimated the country had a shortage of about 550,000 homes last year, with Madrid, Barcelona and Valencia accounting for a substantial share.
Spain ranks near the bottom of countries in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development for public rental housing, which represents less than 2 per cent of its available supply. The European Union average is 8 per cent.
