Maricarmen eviction renews Madrid housing debate
Dramatic eviction of woman aged 87 highlights Spain's housing shortage
Wednesday, 23 September 2026
Warm-up
- How easy is it to find a home to rent in your city?
- What help should older people get with housing costs?
- Have you ever joined or seen a protest? What happened?
Vocabulary
- eviction
- the act of forcing someone to leave their home by law
- tenant
- a person who pays to live in a home owned by someone else
- pension
- money paid regularly to a retired person
- investment
- using money to buy something in order to make a profit
- negotiate
- to discuss something to try to reach an agreement
- affordable
- cheap enough for most people to pay
- shortage
- a lack of something that is needed
- speculation
- buying or acting mainly to make quick profit, with risk
Reading
An 87-year-old tenant, Maricarmen, was evicted from the Madrid flat where she had lived for about 70 years. The home is in the Retiro area. The investment firm Urbagestión bought the building in 2018 and later raised her rent from €500 to €2,650. It then cut the new rent to €1,650, but her pension was €1,350, so she could not pay.
Supporters, including Carlos Bardem and singer Ana Belén, gathered to stop the eviction. Police cleared the entrance and the eviction went ahead. An anonymous donor offered to cover most of the rent, but the company reportedly refused. The central government said it tried to negotiate with Urbagestión. The UN called for the eviction to stop and for affordable alternative housing. The city said she declined a place in a care home.
The case highlights Spain's housing shortage and rising prices. In Madrid, average rents have more than doubled in a decade, with a 10% rise last year. Some call the rises speculation. Others argue the country needs to build more homes.
Comprehension
- Why could Maricarmen not pay the new rent?
- Who owns the building and when did it buy it?
- What happened outside the building on eviction day?
- What offer was made to help, and what was the result?
- What wider trend in Madrid does the case show?
Grammar focus
Question tags
Add a short question at the end of a sentence to check or confirm. Match the auxiliary verb and the pronoun to the main clause (past → didn't, present → don't/doesn't, be → isn't/aren't). (Examples constructed.)
- An anonymous donor offered to cover most of the rent, didn't he?
- The company refused the offer, didn't it?
Grammar exercise
Circle the correct option in each sentence.
- Maricarmen was evicted from the flat, (wasn't they? / wasn't she?)
- The firm raised the rent sharply, (didn't it? / didn't they?)
- Police cleared the entrance, (didn't it? / didn't they?)
- The central government tried to negotiate, (didn't they? / didn't it?)
- The UN called for affordable housing, (didn't they? / didn't it?)
Discussion
- Should governments cap rent rises? Why or why not?
- How should cities protect elderly tenants like Maricarmen?
- Do protests change housing decisions in your country? How?
- What is a fair balance between owners' profit and tenants' security?
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