The incident occurred on Tuesday, April 28, 2026, upon the mayor's arrival at the Teatro Real, where the 12th edition of Bloomberg CityLab was being held. The affected individuals, carrying banners with messages such as "From Madrid to... Under a bridge. Almeida evicts 60 families," sought to highlight their vulnerable situation.
One of the affected, a mother of three minor children with health issues, faces an eviction order for next May. She explained that "60 families are affected by the EMVS" and that they "want to evict them without renewing their contracts." Despite paying off an old debt, currently at 7,300 euros from an initial 9,000, she claims her attempts at negotiation have been ignored.
“"They are asking for the money all at once. I have three minors, I don't work, and I don't know what to do."
The situation is not isolated. Similar cases have been reported in districts such as Usera, Villaverde, Vallecas, and Carabanchel. An activist from the Usera Housing Assembly, linked to the Platform for Mortgage Victims, described the situation as "very serious," noting that a public company that allocates housing to vulnerable families now has "60 judicialized processes" that could leave these families on the streets.
The activist criticizes that evictions are due to debts she considers "small," often resulting from interruptions in income such as the Minimum Living Income. She argues that, although payment plans exist, they are not applied "effectively or flexibly," and that "you cannot evict families who have lived in these homes for many years for that reason."
For their part, municipal sources from the EMVS deny these accusations, assuring that payment plans "are always offered" to tenants in difficulty. They maintain that judicial procedures are only initiated in cases of "non-compliance with current regulations," such as illegal occupations or irregular transfers, and not against those who "want to pay but cannot."
The same municipal sources explain that, due to data protection reasons, they cannot offer specific information on current procedures. During the encounter, Mayor José Luis Martínez-Almeida listened to the affected individuals and stated he had "no prior knowledge" of the situation, committing to contact the EMVS to ensure they were received, affirming that "you have the right to be heard."
