Madrid eviction: Tenant faces removal after 50 years paying €17 rent

Eviction in Vallecas After 50 Years Paying €17

How do you evict a man who has lived in the same apartment for half a century and sleeps hooked up to an oxygen machine? The court order sets Thursday at 11.45 AM for the eviction at number 8 Malgrat de Mar Street in Vallecas. Mariano Soler, aged 56, a street cleaner for the Madrid City Council on sick leave for over a year due to coronary and pulmonary issues, will be removed from the home he entered at age three in 1971. The property owner is reclaiming the building trinc a lawsuit for non-payment that, according to his account, he never knew about.

The apartment is 70 square meters, with two bedrooms and a living room where a blood pressure monitor, anti-anxiety medication, heart pills, and an oxygen machine coexist. On the wall hangs a Rayo flag. The rent: €17 per month, a legacy of the 3,000 pesetas old-rent lease signed by his parents thanks to nuns who knew the owner.

Who Owns the Vallecas Apartment

The title holder is Carmen Elzaburu, aged 94. Those attending with the judicial commission are her children, surnamed Díez de Rivera Elzaburu, Marquesses of Huétor de Santillán, lawyers and owners of a dozen properties including the Puerta de Hierro Club. Franco and his son-in-law attended the wedding of Alonso Díez de Rivera and Carmen Elzaburu. The law firm advertises itself on its website as the oldest in Spain, with offices in Chamartín skyscrapers. This media outlet attempted to obtain their version without success: their office confirmed they were aware of the request but chose not to respond.

The €17 Non-Payment Trial the Tenant Claims He Never Knew About

The sequence described by the affected party is familiar: first calls, then the property manager stops accepting payment, trinc by threats via intercom at any hour. Then, a lawsuit for non-payment and a trial date set. Mariano maintains he never received notification and the hearing took place in his absence. The ruling favored the property owner due to the non-payment of €17 monthly. The Vallekas Anti-Eviction Platform points to a recurring method: incorrect addresses, absences, and confusion with neighbors so the tenant does not appear.

In May, the first eviction attempt occurred. Doctors who examined him certified apnea, coronary problems, and migraines, declaring him vulnerable. That delayed execution by seven months. The final date was set for this Thursday.

What a Madrid Street Cleaner Earns and Why It Is Not Enough

Here the narrative breaks down on several fronts. A street cleaner for the Madrid City Council is not a civil servant or public employee: they work for subcontractors under private contracts. With full-time employment and seniority, the salary ranges around €1,500-€1,600 monthly, according to those familiar with the sector firsthand. With that paycheck and frozen €17 rent, the question arises naturally: why didn't he buy? The repeated answer is the Madrid market, where an average salary cannot buy even a 60-square-meter apartment. The complete calculation, item by item, leaves a differential that surprises anyone doing it for the first time.

The Debate on Old Rents and Private Property

Some argue that old rents constitute de facto expropriation of the owner: decades collecting €17 do not allow maintaining the property, and renovations are never undertaken because the monthly fee does not cover them. Opposing this is the argument that the State cannot shift the social cost of failed housing policy onto individuals, nor can it turn medical vulnerability into bargaining chips. In the middle lies the thesis that the problem is not this specific apartment, but a residential stock where buying has become unattainable.

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The order is dated. The police have the time. Neighbors are summoned one hour prior. And in the 70-square-meter living room, the machine keeping Mariano breathing at night remains plugged in. If the eviction proceeds, the oxygen will have to find another socket.