Evicted Madrid pensioner could return home under eight-year rent agreement

The deal followed a meeting on Monday afternoon between Madrid City Council, the company that owns the flat and Abascal’s lawyer, Beatriz Duro. Under the proposed eight-year contract, her rent would be set at 30% of her income, Duro said. She also described the amount as similar to what Abascal had previously paid.

Abascal remains in hospital following her eviction last Wednesday. She has a recognised disability of 50% and uses a wheelchair. Duro said the aim was to speed up the necessary procedures so that she could return to her home in the Retiro district after leaving hospital.

The lawyer welcomed the agreement while stressing that it had come too late to spare Abascal the eviction. She described it as ‘a situation no one should ever have to face’, but said that, if signed, the deal would be ‘a better and happier outcome for everyone’. She credited public mobilisation and said there had been ‘goodwill’ on the part of the owners.

‘I hope it helps to change the approach to housing and that this right begins to be regulated,’ Duro said.

How the agreement emerged

Abascal’s removal from her home on a stretcher drew widespread attention. Supporters say she had always paid her rent, but that the company which acquired the property sought to raise the monthly amount by 275% to €2,650. ALSO READ: 87-year-old woman evicted from Madrid home after 70 years despite mass protests and offer to pay her rent.

An earlier proposal from the owner, Urbagestión, would have placed the flat in Madrid’s Reviva programme, which brings private homes into use for affordable rent. The city council rejected that proposal on Friday as unworkable, saying it did not meet the programme’s legal requirements. In particular, the council said the property could not enter the scheme with outstanding financial charges or be allocated directly to a named tenant.

The council subsequently offered to bring the owner, Abascal’s lawyer and family, and municipal representatives together to seek an agreement. That route has now produced the proposed rental contract, subject to Abascal’s consent. 

Protests and political pressure

The eviction has intensified protests over housing costs and tenant protections. Demonstrators have camped in Madrid’s Puerta del Sol since Saturday night, while protests have also taken place elsewhere in Spain. Outside Abascal’s building last week, clashes broke out between police and people opposing her eviction. ALSO READ: Protesters vow to stay in Madrid’s Puerta del Sol as housing camp puts pressure on government.

The case has also sharpened the political dispute over who should protect vulnerable tenants. Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez’s government was seeking support for housing measures ahead of Tuesday’s cabinet meeting. ALSO READ: Spanish government pushes for new housing decree after eviction of 87-year-old Maricarmen.

Proposals under discussion include greater protection against evictions and restrictions on speculative property purchases, although the government has yet to set out the full detail of its plan.

Agreement within the governing coalition is uncertain. Sumar, the socialists’ junior left-wing partner, said on Monday that the two sides remained ‘far from an agreement’. The government would also need sufficient support in Congress for any decree to survive a subsequent vote; a previous housing decree fell in April. ALSO READ: Spanish government delays major housing decree until autumn amid political deadlock.

The wider pressures extend well beyond this case. Asking rents per square metre in Spain have almost doubled over the past decade, according to property portal Idealista. The Bank of Spain estimates a housing shortfall of hundreds of thousands of homes, while new construction has struggled to keep pace with demand. For campaigners in Puerta del Sol, Abascal’s possible return is a welcome outcome, but it does not resolve the conditions that made her eviction a national flashpoint. ALSO READ: Thousands rally in Madrid against spiralling rents and housing shortages.