Spanien: Nach Protesten gegen Zwangsräumung: 87-Jährige darf in Wohnung zurück
Ein Immobilienunternehmen in Madrid hatte die schwerbehinderte Frau aus ihrer Wohnung geworfen, weil sie die Mieterhöhung von rund 500 auf 2650 Euro nicht zahlen konnte. Nach Massenprotesten hat ihre Anwältin am Dienstag eine Einigung verkündet.
An 87-year-old resident of Madrid, Maricarmen Abascal, is allowed to return to her apartment following protests against her forced eviction. Representatives of Abascal reached an agreement with the real estate company that owns the building on Monday evening, according to Spanish newspaper El País. She will be able to return under new rental terms, with a rent amount roughly equivalent to what she has been paying – approximately €500 for the mortgage, utilities, and security deposit.
Abascal's confirmation that she accepts the conditions has not yet been stated. Outrage over her forced eviction and frustration with the increasing housing crisis in Spain led tens of thousands to take to the streets of Madrid over the weekend. Protests were organized under the slogan "Ni una Maricarmen más" (No more Maricarmen).
Other demands included better protection against forced evictions, legal measures against rising rents, a strengthening of tenant rights, and the expansion of rental rights. Abascal had moved into her apartment in Madrid's Retiro district in 1956 with her parents and later took over the lease. After the building was sold to a real estate company, she was supposed to move out as her old lease was no longer valid.
The new owners won in court. After several failed eviction attempts, she was finally removed from her apartment by police despite the resistance of her supporters, and taken to a hospital. Demonstrators blamed both the left-wing central government of Pedro Sánchez and conservative regional governments such as that of Isabel Díaz Ayuso in Madrid for the housing crisis and called for measures such as automatic extension of lease contracts, better protection against forced evictions, a freeze on rents, and a reform of the rental law that would more strictly regulate lease terms and room rentals.
In response to the protests, the government is working to pass a new decree on housing policy at the Council of Ministers on Tuesday, which would include measures against forced evictions. The government is currently negotiating with several parties to achieve the necessary majority.
Written by urgent.news from Handelsblatt's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
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