Maricarmen Abascal could soon return to her Madrid apartment. Ricardo Alonso, speaking for Urbagestión, confirmed a tentative agreement just days after she was forced out. The breakthrough followed a four-hour meeting at the Empresa Municipal de la Vivienda y Suelo (EMVS), where city officials mediated between the two sides.
Under the proposal, Maricarmen, 87, would pay rent set at about 30% of her net income. She has lived in the Alcalde Sainz de Baranda flat since 1956. Alonso gave no exact figure, but said the new rent would be close to what she paid before. Her lawyer, Beatriz Duro, said the agreement would secure her tenancy for 8 years at a comparable rent level. The deal remains provisional: Maricarmen still needs to accept it, and lawyers are working out the contract details.
The announcement followed a week of protests and heavy media attention. Police carried out the eviction on September 23, 2026, after more than seventy years of continuous residence. Reuters and BBC Mundo report that the apartment is at Alcalde Sainz de Baranda 46, in Madrid's prestigious Retiro district. The eviction sparked large-scale protests and humanitarian appeals, including a protest camp set up by demonstrators in Puerta del Sol. Maricarmen’s age and decades in the flat drew public sympathy. The case also fueled debate about housing rights and the power of private landlords in Madrid.
Urbagestión bought the property in 2020. Critics called the company a “fondo buitre,” or vulture fund. Alonso pushed back, describing Urbagestión as a small business with only a few partners and staff. He said the company had tried other options before the eviction. Information from Alonso, Maricarmen lost her legal claim to the apartment in 2007, even though she continued paying the old rent. The courts sided with the owner. Her tenancy began under her father’s name, continued through several legal handovers and ended by court order.
City mediation changed the course of events. Urbagestión had initially wanted to put the apartment in the ReViVa program, but the city blocked this because of the property’s mortgage and program rules. The current deal is a step forward, but it will not be final until Maricarmen signs and the paperwork is complete.
Alonso also addressed the backlash. He said the company had faced threats and business disruptions, and someone had sent it a box of cockroaches. He described the incidents as intimidation. Urbagestión has taken legal action against the Sindicato de Inquilinas over the publication of personal data and photos of company staff. Its complaint also challenges the union’s use of the “fondo buitre” label. The union refuses to back down and continues to support Maricarmen’s return.
Asked about the union’s role, Alonso acknowledged that its members were organized and present during the eviction. He would not say whether Maricarmen was being used as a symbol, but recognized her vulnerability and said a humane solution was needed. The Sindicato de Inquilinas says its only goal is to get Maricarmen back home and has openly questioned the landlord’s actions.
Maricarmen’s future remains uncertain. She must sign the new contract before anything changes. The prospect of her return marks a shift from the hard line that led to her eviction. As reported earlier, her story has become a symbol of Madrid’s housing crisis, illustrating how legal protections for long-term tenants can fall short and how landlords and vulnerable renters face mounting pressure.
The case shows how city mediation brought private property interests into contact with public pressure. Urbagestión’s willingness to negotiate suggests that asserting strict legal rights can carry a public cost. Madrid’s housing sector needs flexible, humane answers. In this case, a court order did not settle the dispute.
