Félix Bolaños has rejected Sumar's call to expropriate the Madrid home from which 87-year-old Maricarmen was evicted. He says a new housing decree could reach the Cabinet next Tuesday after talks with Junts and other parties.
On September 23, 2026, police removed 87-year-old Maricarmen from her apartment in Madrid's Retiro district. The eviction followed a dispute with the new owner that had lasted about eight years.
The Government has rejected Sumar's demand to expropriate the property. Félix Bolaños says the proposal has no clear constitutional basis. He also says it would not solve Spain's wider housing crisis. The minister is now pointing to next Tuesday for a new housing decree.
Maricarmen was evicted on September 23, 2026, from her apartment in Madrid’s Retiro district after a dispute with the new owner that had lasted for about eight years.
Sumar's ministers want both measures approved at the same Cabinet meeting. They are calling for the forced expropriation and the Real Decreto-ley de Vivienda on Tuesday.
Bolaños said no.
Speaking in Bilbao in remarks reported by EP, the minister of Presidency and Justice said expropriation would lead nowhere. He said the plan did not fit clearly within the Constitution.
Reports identify the investment structure linked to the property as Urbagestión Desarrollo e Inversiones SL. Media accounts say the monthly rent rose from about 500 euros to 2,650 euros after the ownership change in 2018.
The proposed decree has not been approved. The Government is still negotiating with parliamentary groups.
Junts is central to those talks, but it is not the only party involved. Spain's Parliament is fragmented, and the groups have different interests. Bolaños has asked them to show responsibility and "altura de miras" during the negotiations.
His strategy is private. The minister says public negotiations make an agreement much harder. He wants the parties to work outside the spotlight before they announce a deal.
Moncloa wants enough support to bring the decree to the Council of Ministers next Tuesday. That would be the first such meeting since Maricarmen's eviction. Reuters has linked the faster negotiations over the housing package to the political impact of the case.
The timetable matters. The previous housing decree was defeated twice in Congress by PP, Vox and Junts.
The latest attempt had already caused friction inside the coalition. In March, Sumar ministers blocked a Council of Ministers meeting until their plan was accepted. Congress rejected that plan a month later with votes from PP, Vox and Junts.
The dispute now carries a direct political cost for the Socialists. Sumar wants an immediate response to a highly visible eviction. The PSOE is refusing the specific remedy demanded by its junior partner.
Some parts of Sumar are calling for a break with the coalition. They are also preparing their own electoral brand, with Frente Amplio gaining ground.
The argument goes beyond one property. Maricarmen's eviction is now a test of whether the Government can produce a housing measure that satisfies Sumar and wins support in Congress without adopting expropriation.
Reuters reported that hundreds of people gathered outside the building during the eviction. Police took measures to remove activists. The scenes pushed the case into the wider debate over Spain's housing crisis.
Bolaños has said the Government respects demonstrations in support of affordable housing. He says the authorities are trying to address the problem.
The immediate question is narrow. Can talks with Junts and other groups produce an agreed decree by Tuesday?
The Government is rejecting expropriation while promising stronger access measures. It now needs to deliver a workable decree instead of another failed parliamentary package.
Público and Democrata have reported the competing positions inside the coalition. Pablo Bustinduy says expropriation could set a precedent for similar cases. Bolaños rejects the idea as legally unconvincing and insufficient to resolve the housing crisis.
