In Vallecas police carried out an eviction on 23 September. Those affected were a 52-year-old tenant and his 21-year-old son, who had lived since 2007 in a flat that had originally belonged to the “obra social” of Fundación La Caixa . According to consistent accounts from neighbours and campaign groups, they paid around €400 a month until their protected tenancy expired in 2022. A lower court had initially suspended the eviction; the Audiencia Provincial later ruled that the flat had to be vacated. The eviction was carried out despite protests by dozens of local residents.
The case is part of a broader trend in Madrid’s housing market: a portfolio of several hundred flats from Fundación La Caixa’s holdings was sold to investment funds, including Mosaic Propco, Farley and IGT Básico. According to tenants’ groups and local media, the expiry of the fixed-term social rental contracts ends the protected status of many residents. The new owners are reportedly seeking to sell the units individually at prices the former tenants cannot afford. The Plataforma de Afectados por la Hipoteca is calling on the funds to negotiate affordable solutions with the tenants. The funds’ proposed sales plans and financial constraints had not initially been explained publicly in detail.
At the same time, in Madrid the eviction of Maricarmen in the Retiro which was also enforced on 23 September, attracted nationwide attention. Associations such as the Federación Regional de Asociaciones Vecinales de Madrid described it as a “black Wednesday” for the right to housing and accused the authorities of failing to protect particularly vulnerable households. Politicians from the city and region criticised the role of private funds; however, no immediate countermeasures were announced on the day of the evictions.
What is confirmed: court rulings have been issued, and the eviction was carried out in Vallecas. What is not confirmed is whether, and to what extent, further evictions in the blocks concerned will follow immediately. Calls for negotiations, interim solutions or public-sector intervention have come from civil society organisations and some politicians. The City of Madrid and the Autonomous Community of Madrid are reportedly continuing to assess the situation, while those affected and campaign groups are seeking short-term agreements to avert further enforcement action.
Editor: Mira Cadena (Article created with AI assistance).