The lawyer for 87-year-old Maricarmen, Beatriz Duro, has complained that, following her eviction in Madrid, no concrete alternative accommodation has so far been offered to her client by public bodies. Neither the Ayuntamiento de Madrid nor the Community of Madrid or state authorities had made any such commitments, Duro said. At the same time, she reported a wave of private offers of help, for which she expressed her thanks.
The eviction on 23 September 2026 from the home where Maricarmen says she had lived for decades sparked the outrage. Protests have continued in the capital since then, culminating in a protest camp at Puerta del Sol . Supporters are calling for a swift solution for the pensioner, with public authorities taking responsibility, and point to the vulnerability of older people in eviction proceedings.
The property owner Urbagestión proposed a short-term solution to the city council, suggesting that the evicted flat be transferred to the Empresa Municipal de la Vivienda y Suelo (EMVS). The Ayuntamiento de Madrid rejected this, citing legal requirements and the design of municipal programmes, but offered mediation through the EMVS mediation service. According to Maricarmen’s representatives, a meeting with Urbagestión, attended by the EMVS, is being considered for Monday 28 September 2026. Duro also stressed that she had only learnt of the company’s more recent steps through media reports.
Meanwhile, on 25 September 2026, Maricarmen was taken to Gregorio Marañón hospital, where she received medical care. Those involved gave no further details about her current state of health.
The case has sparked a wider debate about the limits of municipal housing programmes, the EMVS’s scope for action and the responsibilities of the city, region and state towards particularly vulnerable people. The interests at stake are clear: while Urbagestión is pushing for a transfer solution to a public housing institution, the city insists on compliance with existing procedures and mediation options; the lawyer, in turn, is demanding concrete, viable short-term accommodation for her client. Whether the planned mediation will succeed remains to be seen. What is clear, however, is that the protests in Madrid have once again drawn political attention to evictions, social criteria in housing policy and the role of private property owners.
Editor: Mira Cadena (Article created with AI assistance).