The rental crisis in Spain: the eviction of Maricarmen triggers protests and the crisis of the Sánchez government

But who is Maricarmen? Born Maria del Carmen Abascal, she is an 87-year-old woman who lives in Madrid. For 70 years of her life she resided in a house in the Retiro neighborhood, but on September 23 she was evicted from the apartment after the owner company, Urbangestion, multiplied the rent by five, bringing it from 500 to 2650 euros. The images of the woman being taken away live on television on a stretcher quickly spread around the country, causing a wave of street protests.

In the following days, camping tents, blankets and sleeping bags appeared in Puerta del Sol, in the heart of Madrid. Hundreds of people slept there to protest against the housing emergency and the eviction of Maricarmen. Soon there was talk of new "indignados", 15 years after the famous 15-M social protest movement in 2011, in the same square, occupied for weeks against welfare cuts, in the midst of the economic crisis.

In fact, the housing crisis in the country is of enormous proportions: since 2016, rents have grown by 82.7% in Madrid and 94.9% in Barcelona, ​​against a growth in wages of around 45%, according to a Deutsche Bank report. In the capital, the average rent reported by the online portal Idealista is 23.3 euros per square meter per month: a 100 square meter apartment costs 2,330 euros per month. Buying a house has also become more difficult: in the first quarter of 2026, house prices increased by 12.9% on an annual basis, up to +13.5% for used houses. And the problem also concerns supply: according to data from the Bank of Spain, between 2021 and 2025 the creation of new families exceeded the construction of new homes by more than twice, with a deficit estimated at 750,000 homes.

And to the out-of-control house prices, there are also the cases of those who lose their homes as happened in Maricarmen: in the first quarter of the year alone, 2,600 evictions were carried out in Spain due to arrears and 917 connected to mortgage proceedings, according to data from the General Council of Judicial Power (CGPJ), the Spanish CSM, cited by the online elDiario.es. Sanchez's government has launched the Casa47 plan, with the aim of expanding the state housing stock: the construction of 100 thousand homes is planned in the next 10 years, with an investment of 13 billion euros.

Meanwhile, in recent days a turning point has arrived, at least for Mrs. Maricarmen: the company that owns the apartment, Urbangestion, has in fact reached an agreement with her legal representatives to allow her to return to the house with a new rental contract. The financial details of the new lease for the 87-year-old have not yet been disclosed. In any case, the tension in the country has not decreased, since for the demonstrators the protest "goes beyond" the Maricarmen affair and aims to obtain measures to prevent similar cases from happening again.

However, the case sparked so much indignation and protests in the country that the Sanchez government also took action: the Council of Ministers in fact passed two decrees to deal with the housing emergency. Among the measures envisaged are the blocking of evictions of vulnerable people until 2030 and the extraordinary extension of two years, until 31 December 2028, of existing and expiring contracts. A stop has also been established until 2028 on real estate purchases by hedge funds - the so-called "vulture funds" - as well as new rules for seasonal rentals and rooms, and measures against fraud in the rental market.

The government's decision and the pressure from the streets, however, were not enough to push the Congress - where Sanchez does not enjoy a stable majority, but relies on the external support of some parties to govern - to approve the two decrees. In fact, yesterday the bloc of conservatives and the ultra-right, aided by the Catalan independence force Junts, voted against the measures and wrecked the new rules. Not even the appeal of Sanchez himself, who arrived in Parliament to ask the parliamentary groups to vote "thinking of the people", served to get the green light.

The rejection of the decrees was greeted with anger by the thousands of 'Indignados' of all ages still in the streets, who rose up against Parliament: "Your earnings, our misery!", they chanted. The activists are determined to continue the mobilizations in Puerta del Sol and in the rest of the country, even with a general strike. While demonstrations were called in around fifty cities. Meanwhile, on a political level, Sanchez's defeat opens the way to the polls: the president of the government is evaluating the most appropriate choice and will take the weekend to decide whether to call the polls early, while the protest heats up.

The situation could even represent an assist for Sanchez: for a part of the PSOE, in fact, the fall of the decrees could transform from a parliamentary defeat into an opportunity to bring the housing issue to the polls. The party's objective would be to transform the vote against from the right and Junts into a weapon against the forces shown to be on the rise in the polls, after the migration crisis in Ceuta and the numerous investigations into alleged corruption involving some socialist leaders. A prospect which, however, is not without risks: Sanchez will also have to evaluate the conditions of the allies, in particular of Sumar, who has not yet completed the 'Frente Amplio' project, the vast front that should coagulate all the forces to the left of the PSOE, to try to slow down the rise of Vox.