Camps for the right to housing in Puerta del Sol and Plaza Catalunya exceed a thousand structures

Tents, awnings and banners have been occupying Puerta del Sol and Plaza Catalunya for several days now, spaces where the largest encampments for the right to housing in Spain are concentrated. The Tenants' Union already estimates that there are more than a thousand structures installed in the Madrid square, while in the encampment that began with around fifty shops in Barcelona there are already around 200. At both points, assemblies are held and different actions are organized to denounce the difficulties in accessing housing.

Among those who have decided to sleep these days in Plaza Catalunya is Mar, 28 years old, who lives in Barcelona and pays 550 euros per month plus expenses for a room in an apartment he shares with two other people. In his opinion, no one should allocate "more than 30% of their income to rent" and he regrets that, despite the price, the home he shares has significant damage. "It is the most expensive rent I have ever paid and many things in the apartment need to be improved. The boiler is dripping water, the paint on the ceiling is falling off and the parquet is worn; you leave the bathroom and trip," explains the camper.

Anabel and Leo, who are 26 and 25 years old, have gone to the camp to support the cause because, today, they share a single room. He had to leave his previous home and the solution that was initially going to be temporary has been prolonged. "Studying and working at the same time it is impossible to find an apartment, they ask for a lot of money and many conditions," explains Leo. In addition, they both work as freelancers and have had to convert that same room into a bedroom and workspace.

At the other generational extreme is Jorge, 70 years old, who has just obtained an extension of his rental contract and attributes the decision to his vulnerable situation and the fact that Barcelona "is declared a stressed area." He receives a pension of less than 1,000 euros and allocates 500 to rent. Faced with the possibility of having to leave Barcelona, ​​he has come to look for housing in municipalities around Lleida and Tarragona. "They tell me that I am another Maricarmen, but she suffered much more," she points out.

Leonardo is 25 years old and lives in Barcelona, ​​although he spent the night in the square. After two years of independence, he had to return to his parents' house. He has been working since he was 18, but "with a salary of about 1,300 euros," he says he could not continue paying 550 euros plus expenses to live in an apartment he shared with four other people and, at the same time, "make ends meet and save." Now he contributes to family expenses while trying to regain some economic stability: "I couldn't afford to continue like this. That's why I returned to my parents' house."

Among those camped in the capital is Irene, a 33-year-old from Madrid who made the decision to go live in Badalona three years ago in search of new job opportunities. There he rented an apartment with his partner for 850 euros that "aesthetically" was very good, but in reality it had "very serious structural problems." For this reason, they began to look for another apartment but their salaries as an early childhood educator and human resources director did not allow it. "In the end what we had to do is come to Madrid again and now we are living at my parents' house to be able to save," says the young woman, who has been residing in the capital again for about a month.

Héctor, 28 years old and resident of El Escorial, is another of those camping in Puerta del Sol to protest the housing crisis. At his age, he still lives with his parents and siblings in a rented apartment, but his landlord has already told them that he intends to sell it. "We will probably have to go to another autonomous community, because here in Madrid it is impossible. We have achieved absolutely nothing," says this young man, who has already gone through this same situation on previous occasions. Despite this, he makes it clear that he has always had good luck with the owners of the apartments in which he has resided with his family. "They have been quite nice and super correct," he says.

Among them is also René, a 31-year-old young woman from Seville who has lived in Madrid for five years and who claims to feel "privileged" compared to the situations that other people go through. "I'm very lucky because my landlord is a friend's father and that's why I pay very little, about 350 euros for a room," says the young woman, who came to the capital to study theater and is currently self-employed. "Despite that, I can't access a home. I want to be a mother and I can't consider it soon because I don't have a place," she says and remembers that before arriving at that apartment she lived in a small attic where she was short of air during the hot Madrid summer and in another home with roommates who "didn't clean anything" and were "very slutty."

Will, a 29-year-old man from Zaragoza who has lived in the capital for ten years, joins the citizens camped in Madrid. He is studying to be a nursing assistant, although life has led him to have to work in different areas—including hospitality—to be able to support himself. He currently resides in Puente de Vallecas with his partner, who is self-employed and receives help from his parents to live. They pay 1,100 euros in rent for a studio with a living room, kitchen and a bathroom and affirm that every year they "fight" so that their landlord does not raise their rent by 3%. "It is very likely that I will move to Zaragoza in January because the current situation in Madrid is unsustainable," he says.