Eviction of 87-year-old sparks encampment protest in Madrid over housing crisis

Protesters packed Madrid’s historic Puerta del Sol plaza after camping overnight, extending demonstrations over Spain’s housing crisis into a second day. Tens of thousands marched through the capital following the eviction of María del Carmen Abascal from the apartment in the upscale Retiro neighborhood where she had lived for more than seven decades.

The eviction took place on Wednesday, 23 September 2026, when police broke down the door to the flat after a real estate firm bought the property and raised the rent by 275 percent to 2,650 euros, according to the Madrid Tenants' Union. Images of Abascal being carried from her home on a stretcher put the housing crisis into focus ahead of a general election due in 2027, according to reporting from the Associated Press and AFP.

Media additions

"I want what has happened to me to serve so that it does not happen to other people,"

María del Carmen Abascal, via Kuwait Times

Abascal added from the hospital, where she received treatment for exhaustion following her eviction:

"I want it to encourage people to fight and to help change the laws that have allowed me to be evicted."

María del Carmen Abascal, via Kuwait Times

Marchers rattled keys and blew whistles during the demonstration, carrying banners that featured warnings about the rental market. Following the march, activists set up about a dozen tents in Puerta del Sol square outside the headquarters of the Madrid regional government, surrounded by thousands of protesters including multigenerational families. The Madrid Tenants' Union urged people to gather at the camp, stating in a post on X that either the rental system falls, or the government falls.

Demonstrators demanded stronger tenant protections, measures to combat fraud and a ban on evictions when alternative housing is unavailable. Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez has faced regular protests across Spain over housing. His government is expected to approve a package of measures, dubbed the "Maricarmen decree", at its next cabinet meeting. The package would include the automatic renewal of rental contracts and further restrictions on evictions.

It is unclear whether parliament, where Sanchez's government lacks a majority, will approve the package. A similar bill was defeated earlier this year, but Abascal's case has increased pressure on political parties to act.

The Bank of Spain estimates that the country of around 50 million people is short of 700,000 homes, based on the gap between demand and new construction. Analysts say Spain has little public housing, while rents have been driven up by rising demand, including from tourism and from population growth linked to immigration.

Protesters expressed deep frustration with current conditions. Enrique Ortega de Miguel, a 38-year-old graphic designer who lives with his mother, described the housing market:

"It is a struggle to find a place you can afford, then you live in fear of being forced out,"

Enrique Ortega de Miguel, Protester, via Kuwait Times

Irene Lopez, a 33-year-old engineer, told AFP the situation had become "unsustainable" and called Abascal's eviction "the last straw". Maricarmen Arnedo, a 76-year-old pensioner, said that while older people were being forced out of their homes, "young people can't move out of their parents' homes", adding:

"We want house prices and rents to come down, because I'm fed up with washing the underpants of my 53-year-old son."

Maricarmen Arnedo, Pensioner, via Kuwait Times