Spain Moves to Ban Evictions Until 2030 as Housing Crisis Sparks Protests
Government Response and Ongoing Protests
By David Latona and Mireia Merino
MADRID, Sept 29 (Reuters) - Spain's coalition government said it had agreed proposals including banning evictions until 2030 to address the country's housing crisis, as the 87-year-old woman whose forced removal last week triggered protests accepted an offer to return home.
Public Outcry and Protest Actions
Hundreds of people remained camped in one of Madrid's main squares on Tuesday to protest Maricarmen Abascal's removal from her home on a stretcher last Wednesday. They are demanding legal reforms including a rent freeze and the automatic renewal of leases without abusive rent hikes.
Government Proposals and Political Challenges
Health Minister Monica Garcia said the ruling Socialists reached an agreement with junior partner Sumar on Tuesday for a set of new measures, including rolling over contracts until 2028 and banning so-called vulture funds from the housing market. However, the minority government faces an uphill battle to secure support in a fragmented parliament.
Definition and Impact of Vulture Funds
The government was seeking to broaden the definition of what constitutes a vulture fund beyond large private equity funds to any fund or company that buys housing for speculation, Housing Minister Isabel Rodriguez told a news conference, naming Urbagestion, the small company that evicted Abascal, as an example of a firm that might fall into that category.
Urbagestion didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.
Legislative Process and Key Measures
The measures will be divided into two decrees to be voted in parliament on Friday, with the majority in a first decree. The "final sticking point" of automatic contract rollover is in a second decree, Social Affairs Minister Pablo Bustinduy told a news conference.
Political Reactions and Stakeholder Concerns
Calls for Market Intervention
'TIME TO INTERVENE'
"It is time to intervene in the speculative housing market and start striking a balance between ordinary citizens and vulture funds," Garcia wrote on X.
Demands for Small Landlord Protection
Junts, the Catalan pro-independence party that would need to back the decree for it to pass, said on Tuesday it was still far from agreeing on all measures and wanted protection for small landlords, who make up the vast majority of property owners in Spain.
"We all agreed that evictions – where the property is owned by a fund, a vulture fund, run by someone managing millions of euros – obviously need to be stopped," Junts parliamentary spokesperson Miriam Nogueras said on RTVE.
"Lumping together in this category those who have invested their savings in a flat, a restaurant or a property – putting them all in the same basket – is a mistake," she added.
Response from Tenant Groups
Madrid's tenants' union criticised the government's decision to split the measures into two decrees and said the Madrid encampment and others across Spain would continue until their full demands were met, with further demonstrations planned.
The Case of Maricarmen Abascal
Agreement for Return
The lawyer for pensioner Abascal said on Tuesday that Urbagestion, the fund that owns her apartment, had offered a preliminary agreement that will allow her return to her home, paying 30% of her pension over the next eight years, equivalent to around €500 a month.
Financial Terms and Implications
This would see her paying a similar level as prior to the eviction.
Broader Significance
"She should never have been forced to leave," Beatriz Duro told reporters. "I hope this case serves to provide a collective response to the housing crisis."
(Reporting by David Latona, Mireia Merino and Emma Pinedo; Writing by Charlie Devereux; Editing by Alexandra Hudson and Jon Boyle)
