Spain Moves to Ban Evictions Until 2030 After an 87-Year-Old Was Carried Out of Her Home

Spain's coalition government agreed Tuesday to ban evictions until 2030 and to roll over rental contracts until 2028, a sweeping response to a housing crisis that erupted into street protests after an 87-year-old woman was removed from her Madrid home on a stretcher.

Health Minister Monica Garcia announced that the ruling Socialists and their junior partner, Sumar, had reached agreement on the package, which also restricts so-called vulture funds in the housing market. "It is time to intervene in the speculative housing market," Garcia said. Housing Minister Isabel Rodriguez said the government wants to widen the definition of a vulture fund beyond large private equity firms to cover any fund or company that buys housing for speculation.

Rodriguez named Urbagestion, the small property management company that evicted the woman, as an example of a business that could fall into that category. The woman, Maricarmen Abascal, had lived in her home for about 70 years. She was taken out last Wednesday after a rent increase she could not afford, and images of her removal spread quickly across Spain.

Thousands of people marched in Madrid in the days that followed, and protesters set up a camp in the Puerta del Sol square with more than 100 tents. Hundreds remained there on Tuesday. On the same day, Abascal accepted an offer to return to her home. Reports said she would pay about 500 euros a month, roughly 30% of her pension, over eight years.

The measures still need parliament's approval, and the minority government does not have an easy path. Two decrees are due to be voted on Friday. Social Affairs Minister Pablo Bustinduy described the automatic contract rollover in the second decree as "the final sticking point."

The Catalan pro-independence party Junts, whose votes could decide the outcome, has raised objections to treating small landlords the same way as large investment funds. The party asked for protections for owners who put personal savings into a rental property. That objection goes to the heart of the debate: critics of the eviction ban say it will push small owners out of the rental market and shrink supply.

Spain's housing costs have been a top grievance for years, with rents climbing faster than wages in Madrid, Barcelona and other cities, and the Abascal case gave the issue a human face. Tenant groups want the state to do more than delay evictions and have pressed for rent caps and more public housing. For now the government is betting that a long moratorium and a broader definition of speculative buyers can calm the streets while parliament decides.