Maricarmen is an 87-year-old disabled woman who lives in Madrid. Until yesterday, she had lived in the same flat for 71 years.
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When a developer bought the building, she was offered the chance to buy her apartment for €247,000 (£212,000), an impossible sum for the pensioner. They then raised her rent from €500 to €1,650 a month, more than her entire monthly state pension of €1,350. An unnamed “prominent” writer offered to pay the €1,150 difference indefinitely but their offer was ignored.
The original contract for the flat was in Maricarmen’s father’s name. When he died, the apartment passed to his wife, and on her death it was sublet to Maricarmen. The landlords, Urbagestión SL, successfully argued in the supreme court that this subletting was illegitimate and that the contract was no longer valid. Urbagestión SL has been approached for comment.
#madrid #evictions #spain #propertydevelopers
