Maricarmen Abascal, 87, uses a wheelchair and has called the same Madrid apartment home for more than seven decades. She inherited the lease her father signed in 1956, which limited the rent to €500 a month.

In 2018 the building was bought by the investment firm Urbagestión. The company first tried to raise the rent to €2,650 – a 300 % jump – before later lowering the demand to €1,650 per month.

When a court ordered her eviction, paramedics had to lift Maricarmen onto a stretcher and wheel her out of the flat. The dramatic scene triggered massive street protests, including a tent encampment set up in Madrid’s busy Puerta del Sol.

The protests attracted international attention; the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights called for the eviction to be halted and for affordable alternative housing. In response, the Spanish government drafted new measures, such as an eviction ban for vulnerable tenants until 2030, but the parliament rejected the proposals.

Maricarmen’s case shows how a single eviction can become a catalyst for a broader social movement, putting pressure on policymakers to address Spain’s deepening housing crisis.