Beyond the “Maricarmen Decree,” Spain needs laws that guarantee access to housing

Everything done in haste can have consequences. In this case, the haste has a proper name: Maricarmen Abascal, the 87-year-old woman whose eviction has once again put housing at the center of public debate. But the urgency should not be limited to a media case. It should also extend to the thousands of anonymous people who lose their homes in Spain every year.

The vulnerability that this case has made visible is not exceptional. It can appear at different moments in life and affect older people, young people, and families with minors. It can also affect those going through economic difficulties.

That is why it is worth broadening the perspective: this is not just about responding to Maricarmen's situation, but about preventing other people from reaching a similar situation.

Read more: What went wrong in Maricarmen's eviction and three changes so it does not happen again

Evictions and removals

In 2025, 25,540 removals were carried out in Spain. The General Council of the Judiciary uses this term to refer to the execution of an eviction.

Of that total, 18,317 (71.7%) resulted from proceedings related to the Urban Leases Act. This category is mainly linked to rentals, although it does not exclusively identify cases of nonpayment. Another 4,346 removals, equivalent to 17%, occurred in mortgage foreclosure proceedings. The remaining 1,877 were due to other causes. The total figure fell by 11% compared with 2024, but it still shows the scale of the problem.

These figures require clarification: a removal does not necessarily mean that it is a primary residence. Nor do they all stem from the same cause or affect people in identical situations. Even so, the volume invites us to look beyond a single case. If the political reaction accelerates when a story moves public opinion, one may ask why that urgency is not maintained in the face of a problem affecting thousands of people.

The rules involved

To understand what a law can do (and what it cannot), it is necessary to distinguish between the rules involved. The Urban Leases Act, passed in 1994, regulates rental contracts and the obligations of landlords and tenants. The Civil Procedure Act, passed in 2000, sets out the judicial procedure. Its article 250 provides for claims to recover a property due to nonpayment of rent or the end of the contract. Therefore, eviction is not explained by a single law: both rental rules and judicial procedure rules are involved.

In 2023, the Law on the Right to Housing was added to the cited rules. It introduced changes in proceedings, including procedures related to notifying social services and to situations of vulnerability. It amended procedural law, but it did not replace rental regulations nor did it prevent all evictions. Protection depends on the circumstances of the case, the legal requirements, and judicial decisions.

Laws also have a political history

It is not enough to say which party approved them. It is worth distinguishing who promoted a bill, who negotiated changes, and who voted for the final text. The Urban Leases Act of 1994 was approved with broad parliamentary consensus. According to the press at the time, Izquierda Unida and Iniciativa per Catalunya were the groups that were left out of the agreement.

The Civil Procedure Act of 2000 was not a specific anti-eviction law, but a general reform of civil procedures. In the final vote, the Popular Party, the Basque Nationalist Party and Izquierda Unida supported the text. The Socialist Party and Convergència i Unió voted against it, while Coalición Canaria abstained. That difference does not mean that the opposing groups did not take part in the processing of the bill or did not submit proposals.

The Law on the Right to Housing of 2023 obtained less consensus. It was approved with 176 votes in favor, 167 against and one abstention. It was supported, among others, by the Socialist Party, Unidas Podemos, Esquerra Republicana and Euskal Herria Bildu. The Popular Party, Vox, Ciudadanos, the Basque Nationalist Party and Junts, among other groups, voted against it. The Galician Nationalist Bloc abstained.

This overview shows that the current framework is not the work of a single party nor does it respond to a single political moment. It also helps to understand a more recent decision. In February 2026, the Popular Party, Vox and Junts rejected the Royal Decree-Law that extended the anti-eviction moratorium included among the measures of the so-called social shield for 2026. That vote caused that extension to fail. However, it did not eliminate the entire legal framework on evictions nor does it allow one to anticipate what those parties will do in the face of a different proposal.

The uncertainties of the ‘Maricarmen decree’

The definitive content of the decree that the Government could approve this Tuesday is still unknown. It is known that the government partner party Sumar has called for the extension of rental contracts and for strengthening protection against evictions and investment funds. It also calls for regulating certain rents and facilitating Maricarmen's recovery of her home. These are political demands, not measures that can be taken as included before knowing the text.

Even if the Council of Ministers approves the so-called Maricarmen Decree, its continuation would not be guaranteed, since Congress would have to ratify it within 30 days. The measure could remain in force or lapse depending on the outcome of that vote.

General measures for access to affordable housing

The response should not be reduced to an urgent measure for a specific case or to a reproach aimed at a single party. Attention must be paid to those who are already facing an eviction and action must be taken before it occurs. That requires improving access to affordable housing and strengthening housing alternatives.

It also requires better coordination between social and judicial intervention. Housing policy must respond to young people, families and older people. To achieve this, it is not enough to react to the news of the day: effective measures, evaluation and agreements that can be sustained over time are needed.