María del Carmen Abascal became the focus of a growing housing debate in Spain after the 87-year-old woman was forcibly evicted from the Madrid apartment where she had lived for 71 years. Her removal on Sept. 23, 2026, drew widespread attention after she was taken from the property on a stretcher, while protesters gathered outside the building and later took to the streets in large numbers. María del Carmen “Maricarmen” Abascal’s case has attracted attention not simply because of her age, but because of the extraordinary length of time she had lived in the same home. She moved into the Madrid apartment as a teenager in the mid-1950s and remained there for more than seven decades.
Over the years, the apartment became the place where she spent almost her entire adult life. The dispute centered on the rent and the legal status of the tenancy. An investment fund called Urbagestión acquired the apartment building in 2018, after which Abascal’s rent increased substantially. Her original rent had been €500 per month, but it was later raised to €2,650 before eventually being reduced to €1,650. Abascal, however, received a monthly pension of about €1,350, meaning that even the reduced rent was beyond what she could afford.
Her eviction became a major public issue in Madrid, with supporters describing her situation as an example of the pressure facing older tenants during Spain’s housing crisis. Protesters gathered outside her building, and nearly 10,000 people reportedly took part in demonstrations in the neighborhood on the night she was removed.
Just days after the eviction, there was a dramatic development. Abascal’s lawyer, Beatriz Duro, negotiated an agreement with Urbagestión that could allow the elderly woman to return to her long-time home. Under the proposed arrangement, her rent would be set at around 30% of her income for eight years. The agreement still required Abascal’s approval because she had been hospitalized after the eviction and was recovering from exhaustion. Her lawyer said that she would sign the agreement when she felt well enough.
María del Carmen Abascal Spent 71 Years in the Same Madrid Apartment
Abascal’s connection to the apartment stretches back to the 1950s, when she was just 17 years old. She moved there with her family during a period when Madrid looked very different from the city it is today. Her father originally signed an old-style regulated tenancy agreement for the home. That tenancy later passed through the family. After Abascal’s father died, the agreement was transferred to his wife. When Abascal’s mother died in 2005, the tenancy passed to Abascal herself. By then, she had already spent roughly half a century living in the apartment.
For Abascal, the property was therefore much more than a place she rented. It had been her home for almost her entire adult life. She had lived through decades of changes in Madrid while remaining in the same neighborhood. The legal dispute over the apartment lasted for years. According to the information surrounding the case, courts had previously rejected three attempts to evict her. A January 2022 decision had been in her favor, but that ruling was eventually overturned when Spain’s Supreme Court ruled against her in March.
After several postponements, the eviction was finally carried out on Sept. 23. Abascal was given 30 minutes to collect essential belongings before she was removed from the property. The circumstances of the eviction quickly became the subject of intense public attention. Abascal was taken away on a stretcher, and she was later admitted to hospital. Her removal was witnessed by supporters and protesters who had gathered outside the building.
Authorities also removed some protesters from the doorway of the apartment building. As Abascal was taken away in an ambulance, supporters reportedly continued chanting. That evening, the protests grew considerably. Nearly 10,000 people took part in demonstrations in the neighborhood, chanting slogans including “Shame on you.” The demonstrations reflected broader anger surrounding housing affordability and evictions in Spain.
The eviction of an 87-year-old woman from the Madrid home she lived in for decades has sparked mass protests over Spain’s housing crisis.
— Virgin Media News (@VirginMediaNews) September 28, 2026
Thousands took to the streets, with protesters camping overnight in Puerta del Sol demanding an end to evictions without alternative housing.… pic.twitter.com/dg09mQD0Gr
The case also became associated with the wider housing crisis affecting many people in the country. Demonstrators at Madrid’s Puerta del Sol later welcomed news that an agreement had been reached that could allow Abascal to return home. Although the circumstances of her case were highly unusual, her situation became a focal point for people concerned about the difficulties faced by tenants whose housing costs rise beyond their incomes.
Why Was the 87-Year-Old Woman Evicted?
The central issue in Abascal’s case was the long-running disagreement over her tenancy and the rent she was expected to pay. When Urbagestión acquired the apartment building in 2018, Abascal’s rent increased. Her original monthly rent had been €500, but it was subsequently raised to €2,650. It was later reduced to €1,650, yet even that amount remained higher than her monthly pension. Abascal’s pension was approximately €1,350 per month. That meant the reduced rent was still €300 more than the total amount she received each month.
Her lawyer argued for a solution that would connect the rent to Abascal’s income rather than setting it at an amount she could not realistically afford. That approach eventually became the foundation of the agreement negotiated on Sept. 28. Under the new proposed arrangement, Abascal would pay a rent equivalent to approximately 30% of her income for eight years. The amount would therefore be far closer to the rent she could afford based on her pension. Beatriz Duro met with representatives of Urbagestión on Monday, Sept. 28. Following the meeting, she described the negotiations as involving goodwill from both sides.
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However, Abascal herself was not able to participate in the meeting because she had been hospitalized following the eviction. Her lawyer said the elderly woman was receiving treatment for exhaustion and would approve and sign the agreement when she felt better. The proposed agreement represented a major change from the situation that had existed just days earlier. On Sept. 23, Abascal had been removed from the apartment she had occupied for 71 years. By Sept. 28, negotiations were underway that could allow her to return.
Duro acknowledged that the agreement came late, after circumstances that she said should never have happened. At the same time, she described the outcome as a better and happier result for everyone involved. She also expressed hope that the case could contribute to changes in the way housing rights are handled in Spain. The agreement did not erase the years of legal proceedings that came before it. The Supreme Court had already ruled against Abascal in March, overturning the earlier court decision that had favored her. The eventual agreement therefore came through negotiations rather than a reversal of that court ruling.
The situation also involved proposed alternatives to returning to the apartment. Local authorities had previously said that Abascal had rejected other housing options, including accommodation in a residential facility. After leaving the apartment, she again rejected that type of alternative and said she would rather live with relatives.
The Madrid City Council also became involved after the eviction. On Sept. 25, the council rejected an emergency proposal from Urbagestión that would have allowed Abascal to return to the apartment through a social housing arrangement. The company had asked for the property to be included in a social housing program, but the council said the apartment did not meet the legal requirements for that program. That left the dispute unresolved until the later negotiations between Abascal’s lawyer and Urbagestión produced the proposed eight-year agreement.
The Protests That Put Maricarmen’s Case in the Spotlight
The events surrounding Abascal’s eviction quickly transformed her personal housing dispute into a much larger public demonstration. People gathered outside the apartment building as the eviction took place. Some protesters were removed from the entrance by authorities, while others remained nearby and continued to show their support. The most striking moment came when Abascal was taken away in an ambulance. The 87-year-old had been living in the apartment since she was a teenager, and her departure after more than seven decades generated an emotional response among supporters.
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Later that evening, nearly 10,000 people reportedly gathered in the neighborhood to protest. Chants of “Shame on you” could be heard as demonstrators expressed their anger over the eviction and the broader issue of housing affordability. The demonstrations did not remain limited to Madrid. The eviction prompted protests and expressions of support elsewhere in Spain as well. The slogan “We are all Maricarmen” appeared during demonstrations, reflecting the way Abascal’s name had become connected with the broader housing debate.
At Madrid’s Puerta del Sol, as many as 1,000 protesters later celebrated news of the proposed agreement. The famous central square had also become a gathering point for people protesting Spain’s housing crisis, with camps established there by people campaigning over housing issues. For many protesters, Abascal’s story represented the tension between property ownership, tenancy agreements, rising housing costs and the ability of people on fixed incomes to remain in homes where they have lived for decades.
At the same time, the case contains a complicated legal history. Three earlier eviction attempts had been rejected by the courts, but the Supreme Court eventually ruled against Abascal. The final eviction therefore followed a series of legal proceedings rather than being an isolated action. Her age and circumstances nevertheless made the case particularly striking. At 87, Abascal had spent 71 years in the same apartment. She had moved into the home at 17 and remained there through most of her life.
The proposed eight-year agreement now offers the possibility of another chapter in that story. If Abascal approves and signs the deal, she would be able to return to the apartment while paying rent based on her income rather than the much higher amount that had previously been demanded. Her lawyer said the rent would be around 30% of Abascal’s income. The agreement would last for eight years, giving the elderly woman a period of housing stability after the uncertainty surrounding her eviction.
For now, the final step depends on Abascal herself. She was still recovering in hospital after the eviction and had not been able to attend the negotiations. Her lawyer said she would sign the agreement once she felt better. The story of María del Carmen Abascal is therefore still unfolding. What began as a long-running dispute over an apartment became a highly visible public issue after an 87-year-old woman was removed from the home where she had lived for 71 years. Within days, negotiations produced a potential path back.
Whether the agreement becomes the final resolution, however, depends on Abascal’s approval and the implementation of the deal. For an elderly woman who spent nearly her entire adult life in one Madrid apartment, the possibility of returning home has brought a dramatic change after one of the most difficult weeks of her life.