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, 'Maca', a resident of the neighborhood, "has just been suspended in court following the document presented by the legal team of the Tenants' Union of Catalonia demanding the application of the new decree approved by the Council of Ministers," reported the Tenants' Union. As ARA has learned, at least two other 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. After the 'yes' to the measures announced by Podemos, the vote is now in the hands of Junts and the PNV.

"[The case of Maca] is the first instance we are aware of where this has happened," said the spokesperson for the Tenants' Union, Enric Aragonès, regarding the suspension of the process this Thursday. In fact, the judicial committee did not arrive to appear, and, according to the Mossos, the police operation for this eviction has been cancelled. As soon as they were informed 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 a residential alternative and with a mental health diagnosis. She has lived in this apartment since 2017, with a verbal agreement with the landlord, 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 landlord agreed in exchange for increasing the rent by another 100 euros, up to 850.

In 2024, the landlord wanted to raise the rent again and Maca asked to formalize the contract in exchange. The landlord 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 abandon the home." The landlord, they claim, allegedly threatened to change the lock, attempted to remove her residency registration, and reduced the home's electrical power 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 landlord, 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 without a response.

Shortly before announcing the stay of Maca's eviction, Enric Aragonès stated that the 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 (cassolada) called for this Thursday evening in the town squares. In the case of Barcelona, the action took place in Plaça Sant Jaume.

The pot-banging protest

Before eight in the evening, hundreds of people were already filling this square, with pots and pans in their hands, but many were also clinking their house keys. In total, according to the count by the Barcelona City Police, about 800 people attended. During the protest, a minute of silence was held to honor Javi, the man who ran a shoe store in L'Hospitalet and who took his own life before he was evicted from his business due to non-payment. One of the main cries of the gathering was a unanimous call for a general strike. During the speeches, they also pressured Junts to vote in favor of the Spanish government's proposal that is being voted on this Friday in Congress. Once the protest concluded, the organizers called for continued mobilization from the encampment in Plaça Catalunya.

In fact, the encampment, which has been going on for three days in Plaça Catalunya, has grown visibly this Thursday night after the Sindicat de Llogateres joined it. If on Wednesday there were about fifty tents, at ten o'clock on Thursday night there were about 200 of them.