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Madrid Octogenarian to Return Home After Controversial Eviction

Municipal mediation will let 87‑year‑old Maricarmen resume her decades‑long tenancy once she leaves hospital, putting pressure on the government to push emergency housing reforms.

Overview

  • A court-ordered eviction removed Maricarmen from her Retiro flat and she was taken to hospital after being carried out on a stretcher during the operation.
  • The municipal housing agency EMVS mediated an agreement between Maricarmen and the building’s owner that will let her return under a contract with a rent similar to her long-standing payment once she is discharged.
  • Higher courts had ruled for the property owner after Urbagestión bought the building and challenged family subrogation rights, leaving judicial remedies exhausted before the eviction.
  • Mass protests, including an encampment in Puerta del Sol and nationwide demonstrations led by tenants’ groups, intensified pressure that helped push the parties into mediated talks.
  • The case highlights Spain’s ‘renta antigua’ family subrogation rules and a wider rental-price crunch that has doubled average rents in parts of the country and is driving the central government’s proposed emergency measures that face uncertain parliamentary approval.