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Retiro mobilises to stop the eviction of Maricarmen, aged 87
Maricarmen is 87 years old and has lived in the same flat in Retiro for 71 years. This week, her name has left the neighbours’ stairwell to become a symbol of a much bigger struggle: that of those who fear losing their home in a city where rising rents are forcing out even people who have spent their whole lives in the neighbourhood.
Hundreds of neighbours gathered this Tuesday on Alcalde Sainz de Baranda street to support her and demand a solution. There were banners, music, families, local children, and an unforgettable image: an elderly woman surrounded by people who didn’t want to leave her alone in the face of eviction.
The eviction has been postponed for three weeks, until 24 June, but the uncertainty remains. The Sindicato de Inquilinas de Madrid believes the extension solves nothing and fears it is only intended to weaken the neighbourhood mobilisation. For Maricarmen, every day gained counts, but it doesn’t answer the underlying question: where will she live if she is finally forced to leave?
The conflict goes back a long way. The building was sold in 2018 and the flat ended up in the hands of a company that began legal proceedings to terminate the contract. In 2025, Maricarmen received a rent increase to 2,650 euros, an impossible amount for her, turning her lifelong home into a financial threat.
The battle reached the Supreme Court, which ultimately sided with the property owner. The ruling limits the transfer of old contracts in cases like hers, except where there is a disability of more than 65%. Maricarmen has a recognised disability of 50%, so she is not covered by this protection.
During the gathering, the neighbour called on the authorities to intervene. She did not speak as a professional activist, but as someone who cannot understand how she could lose her home after more than seventy years paying and living in the same place. That simplicity explains why her case has resonated so quickly with the neighbourhood.
The protest also received support from artists such as Rozalén e Ismael Serrano, but the main strength was in the street: neighbours, families and groups who see in Maricarmen more than just an individual case. They see a warning about what can happen when buildings change hands and housing becomes a financial asset.
Retiro is no stranger to this tension. Its streets have become more valuable, rents have risen, and many flats that once formed part of neighbourhood life are now seen as assets. Maricarmen’s case puts a face to this change: an elderly woman, a lifelong home, and a city that must decide whether it still knows how to protect those who sustained it before it became so expensive.