First eviction stopped by the 'Maricarmen decree'

BarcelonaThe anti-eviction decree approved by the Spanish government following the Maricarmen case is already having its first effects and has allowed for the suspension of an eviction in Sant Andreu. The eviction of Macarena, known as Maca, a neighbor from the district, "has just been suspended in the courts after the document presented by the legal team of the Sindicat de Llogateres de Catalunya, demanding the application of the new decree approved by the Council of Ministers," reported the Sindicat de Llogateres. As far as ARA has been able to learn, at least two more evictions have been suspended in Barcelona using this mechanism.

The decree, published this Wednesday in the Official State Gazette (BOE), is already in force. Its future, however, depends on the validation by the parties in Congress. This Friday, both this first decree and the one regarding the automatic renewal of leases will be put to a vote. Following the 'yes' to the measures announced by Podemos, the vote is now in the hands of Junts and the PNV.

"[Maca's] is the first case we are aware of where this has happened," said Aragonès regarding the suspension of the process this Thursday. In fact, the judicial committee did not end up appearing and, according to the Mossos, the police deployment for this eviction was cancelled. The moment they became aware of the suspension, the people gathered celebrated and moved to another neighborhood in Barcelona, specifically to Trinitat Vella, to prevent another eviction scheduled for today.

In the apartment since 2017

This Thursday's was the second eviction attempt for Macarena. According to the Tenants' Union and the Sant Andreu Union, she is a woman in a situation of vulnerability, without residential alternatives and with a mental health diagnosis. She has lived in this apartment since 2017, with a verbal agreement with the owner, that is, without a contract. When she moved in, they agreed on a price of 750 euros—which the landlord collected in cash—but two years later, when she asked to register her residency there, the owner agreed in exchange for increasing the rent by 100 euros more, up to 850.

In 2024, the owner wanted to increase the rent again and Maca asked to formalize the contract in exchange. The owner only offered her a room rental contract, but for the same price, a proposal that the tenant rejected. The unions stress that "from that moment on, a period of harassment and blackmail began to get her to leave the home." The owner, they claim, threatened to change the lock, tried to withdraw her residency registration, and reduced the electrical power of the dwelling to a minimum, which was already in "poor condition".

Both the Tenants' Union and the Sant Andreu Union have tried to open a path for negotiation, but the owner, they indicate, has repeatedly refused. The case has also passed through the hands of the Housing Office, which proposed a subsidy to the owner to renovate the apartment in exchange for incorporating it into the City Council's housing pool, an option that remained unanswered.

Shortly before announcing the halting of Maca's eviction, the spokesperson for the Tenants' Union, Enric Aragonès, said that parties intending to overturn the decrees should "have on their conscience the deaths that are occurring," following the suicides of people who have been left homeless. He also called for joining the encampment for the right to housing in Plaça Catalunya after the pot-banging protest called for this Thursday evening in town squares. In the case of Barcelona, the action will be at Plaça Sant Jaume.