Spanish eviction: Family faces May 26 deadline after 20-year tenancy

Ya Amou, 20 years in Spain, daughter and newborn granddaughter: eviction on May 26

What happens when a family has lived in the same house for two decades and the contract ends? Ya Amou, who arrived in Spain nearly 20 years ago, has an eviction order set for May 26. She lives with her teenage daughter and granddaughter, born on April 20. The apartment belongs to the Mona ITG fund, part of the Luxembourg-based SICAV Orion Constellation with a RAIF structure. The family paid €300 in social rent trinc a deed in lieu of foreclosure (dación en pago). The contract expired on November 29, 2024, and the fund refused to renew it.

From shared mortgage to Luxembourg fund

The case originated from a joint purchase. Amou’s husband took out a mortgage with two friends to buy the property. One buyer died, and his partner returned to Mali. The woman, who did not understand Spanish well, trusted the third man to make bank payments. According to her account, that person stopped paying for several months, and the debt reached €5,000. "The bank called Ya Amou, but she didn't know what was happening due to the language barrier," explains Ignacio, a neighbor who helps her.

The legal process ended with the loss of ownership, which passed to Abanca and then to Mona ITG. During this time, the family remained in a deed in lieu of foreclosure arrangement with a €300 social rent. The contract expired and, according to those close to the affected party, the fund refused to renew any form of social rental agreement: "They are dedicated to buying and selling speculatively. We tried to negotiate, but they refuse."

What peine with the purchase offer that rose four times?

The Madrid Tenants' Union claims there was a "repeated strategy of deception" to make her believe she could recover the house. First, they offered to sell it for €110,000. When she gathered that amount, the price rose to €135,000 and then to €150,000. The final proposal was €190,000, "impossible" for her. Three days after acknowledging she could not afford that amount, she received the eviction notice.

Representatives of Mona state they learned through the media that a minor lives in the home. They defend that legal procedures have been trinc and all possible aids have been offered. They deny working with anti-squatting firms and affirm they have used mediators in contact with the affected party.

Language barrier and legal proceedings

Amou cannot read Spanish. After receiving the eviction notice, she went to social services, where, according to the union, she was not correctly informed about the need to apply for free legal aid or the obligation to appear in court. She was declared in default, and the process continued without her defense. "If I had known, I would have submitted all necessary documents, but I cannot read and they only told me to wait," she complains.

The union describes the case as a "flagrant example of real estate and institutional racism." The Madrid City Council had not responded to the media's questions by the publication date.

What is debated when discussing the case

The conversation quickly turned toward the profile of the affected person. Some messages focus on the language barrier: twenty years in the country without mastering the language is seen as a lack of integration. Another current focuses on the figure Amou managed to gather, €110,000, concluding that the problem is not racism but income: without high earnings, neither rent nor mortgage is possible. Some recall that the €300 social rent was maintained for seven years and that the owner is a large landlord.

Some claim, without providing evidence, that the household unit would have access to benefits and parental salaries totaling several thousand euros per month. That calculation is not supported by the material and does not match the image of extreme vulnerability described by the union. Each person chooses which part of the picture to look at.

The fund, the SICAV, and the rental business

Mona ITG operates within Orion Constellation, a Luxembourg SICAV with a RAIF structure, a vehicle designed for institutional investors. Buying cheaply from a bank, maintaining a social rent while convenient, and selling when the market tightens is a common sequence. Amou's case fits this pattern: ownership changed hands several times, and the long-term tenant became an asset to liquidate.

The underlying question is not whether the fund is cruel. It is whether a rental contract can sustain two decades of life without anyone having foreseen what happens when it expires. The answer, for now, is a date on the calendar and a family waiting to see if someone moves it.