Spain advances eviction ban after protests over Madrid woman’s removal

Spain’s cabinet has approved housing proposals that include a ban on evictions until 2030, following protests sparked by the removal of an 87-year-old woman from her Madrid apartment. The woman, María del Carmen “Maricarmen” Abascal, has also been offered a deal that would allow her to return home, her lawyer said.

The cabinet approved the proposals on Tuesday in the form of two decrees, which still need parliamentary approval. Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez’s coalition lacks a majority, and right-leaning parties blocked an earlier attempt to extend rental contracts in April. The government hopes to hold a vote as soon as Friday, the BBC reported.

Health Minister Mónica García said the measures would bring relief to more than five million people. According to the BBC, they also include extending rental contracts until 2028, tightening regulation of short-term and room rentals, and banning investment firms from buying housing.

“It is time to intervene in the speculative housing market and start striking a balance between ordinary citizens and vulture funds,” García said. She thanked demonstrators for their protests and encampments: “Without you, this would not have been possible.”

Abascal was forcibly removed from her apartment on a stretcher last week and admitted to hospital. Her father first rented the flat in 1956, and she continued living there after her parents died. After investment company Urbagestión bought the property in 2018, the monthly rent rose above her pension, leaving her unable to pay it, according to the BBC.

Her lawyer said the owner offered on Monday to restore her previous rent, clearing the way for her return. Al Jazeera reported that the proposed payments would be capped at about $570 a month for eight years, roughly 30% of her pension. The BBC reported that Abascal could not attend the meeting because she was in hospital and had not yet signed the deal.

Thousands marched through Madrid on Saturday, and protesters set up hundreds of tents in the central Puerta del Sol square, the BBC reported. Demonstrations spread to other cities, including Barcelona, Seville, Málaga and Cádiz. The Madrid Tenants’ Union called the landlord’s offer a “historic win” in a post on X, according to Al Jazeera. Valeria Racu, a spokeswoman for the union, separately said the broader fight had “only just begun” and called for more protests across Spain next weekend, the BBC reported.

The decrees face political resistance. Míriam Nogueras, a spokeswoman for the Catalan nationalist Junts party, said evictions involving properties owned by large investment funds should be stopped. But she warned against treating people who had invested their savings in property the same way, saying the agreement left “small landlords out in the cold.”

A housing shortage adds pressure to the debate. The BBC cited a Bank of Spain estimate of a 700,000-home shortfall; Al Jazeera put the central bank’s estimate at roughly 755,000 homes. According to figures cited by the BBC, house prices rose 12.2% over the year to the second quarter of 2026, while rents increased 8.5% in 2025.