Spain proposes ban on evictions as ousted 87-year-old accepts offer to return home

MADRID — Spain‘s coalition government said it had agreed proposals including banning evictions until 2030 to address the country’s housing crisis, as the 87-year-old woman whose forced removal last week triggered protests accepted an offer to return home.

Hundreds of people remained camped in one of Madrid’s main squares on Tuesday to protest Maricarmen Abascal’s removal from her home on a stretcher last Wednesday. They are demanding legal reforms including a rent freeze and the automatic renewal of leases without abusive rent hikes.

Health Minister Monica Garcia said the ruling Socialists reached an agreement with junior partner Sumar on Tuesday for a set of new measures, including rolling over contracts until 2028 and banning so-called vulture funds from the housing market. However, the minority government faces an uphill battle to secure support in a fragmented parliament.

The government was seeking to broaden the definition of what constitutes a vulture fund beyond large private equity funds to any fund or company that buys housing for speculation, Housing Minister Isabel Rodriguez told a news conference, naming Urbagestion, the small company that evicted Abascal, as an example of a firm that might fall into that category.

Urbagestion didn’t immediately respond to a request…

Original source: https://www.nbcnews.com/business