Woman, grandchildren on the verge of living on the street: evicted from apartment on charges of non-payment of purchase price

The organizations are demanding social rent security for the woman, but their demands have not been heard.

The Cruz case is paradigmatic, and according to PAH Vallecas, it is an example of how large property owners in Spain operate. In the specific case of Madrid, 23.2% of rental housing in the region is owned by companies with more than 50 properties, including Blackstone, CBRE, CaixaBank, Renta Corporación, Cerberus and Banco Santander.

The property from which Cruz now wants to be evicted belonged until four years ago to Sareb, known as a "bad bank" that buys properties from banks, many of which come from evictions, to give them new life in the real estate market. The woman's current home was taken over by Regalías Capital, an affiliate of Ahora Asset Management (ASM), which purchased the home in a package of 400 properties, many of which already had tenants, with the intention of evicting them. The price of this particular home, as learned from PAH and confirmed by Infobae España, was 45,499 euros, as indicated in a simple notice of the Madrid Property Registry.

"46,000 euros for a house in Madrid of 97 square meters. Would you find something similar at that price?" - PAH activists joked, recounting the case of the Cruze, which is also criticized for a price out of reach of the average buyer. "At a time of debate about how expensive rents are, it doesn't seem justified to us," says Mercedes, one of the organization's spokeswomen.

In addition, this Property Registry document, with an update date of 2023, states that the change of ownership occurred despite the fact that the buyer had not paid the money: "The amount of the deferred payment of the purchase price is due by December 31, 2021." Documentation was requested from PAH to verify that payment was made, but did not receive a response or confirmation that the debt was discharged. If not, an attempt will be made to evict the person by the company that has not yet paid for the purchase of the home.

If the deferred payment has not been made, PAH Vallecas requests that "Sareb exercise his right to declare the purchase agreement null and void and become a homeowner again" to make "social rentals for Cruz and her family." This publication was unable to reach Regalías Capital.

Cruz will not be evicted this month, but she will have to struggle again in December to find a roof over her head for herself and her grandchildren. Like her husband, the heads of the family, they have recognized physical disabilities, but that doesn't stop the company from negotiating a social lease and putting an end to this agonizing journey for a family that wanders from house to house with no alternative.