I have lived in a rental apartment in Picassent since 2018. During the pandemic He lost his job and after this period he became totally disabled.. But none of this stopped a judicial commission from ordering his expulsion on Wednesday. This is the story of Oscar Morales, who The “Levant” media are moving forward.
Early in the morning, the Platform of People Affected by Mortgages (PAH) of Valencia shared a call in front of the house where Óscar had been residing for six years. Two volunteers from the NGO Psychologues sans frontières also went there, according to the aforementioned media. All with the aim of avoiding the expulsion of this 36-year-old young man. A mission which, however, did not succeed.
As ‘Levante’ points out, Óscar was forced to stop paying his rent during the pandemic when he lost his job. Later, an illness led local social services to They recognized a disability 100% this prevents him from returning to professional life. It is precisely for this reason that the launch was interrupted in 2023.
However, the validity of this vulnerability report has expired. Situation which took advantage of the investment fund which owns the house – Tempore Properties, formerly SAREB – to request eviction from the residence again where Óscar had lived for six years. The young man was waiting for Social Services to renew this document, because his illness continues to be an obstacle to returning to work.
Today, he is waiting for social assistance to offer him housing. In the meantime, he highlighted “Levante”, who go to sleep in his carwhile regretting the judge’s decision to order the expulsion. “I hope that his son will never find himself in the same situation as me and that no judge will be able to throw him out on the street like he threw me out,” he criticized in statements to the aforementioned media .
“Human dramas” and prices are also increasing
But Oscar’s story is not an isolated case in Spain. In just the first three months of this year, 7,424 expulsions in our countryaccording to data proposed by the same General Council of the Judicial Power (CGPJ). A figure which represents an increase of 12% in these “human tragedies” compared to those occurring in the first quarter of 2023.
Most of them correspond to those caused by non-payment of rent, as is the case of this young person from Picassent. Specifically, They represent 73.3% of all registrants in the first months of this year, while those coming from mortgage foreclosures occupy 19.05% of the total. Concerning the remaining 7.17%, the CGPJ does not specify the causes.
In the eyes of the PAH, these figures represent a failure of law for the right to housing which came into force last March. It includes measures such as limiting rent prices or promoting social housing. Initiatives which, on the other hand, have not succeeded in “stopping the price of rent or housing”, criticizes the aforementioned organization.
Whether year-on-year or month-on-month, the price of second-hand homes for sale in Spain has been up compared to the third quarter of 2021as reflected in the Fotocasa real estate index. Without going any further, the last update of this register – corresponding to the third quarter of 2024 – this type of housing suffered an increase of 1.2% compared to the previous three months and an increase of 9.5% compared to the same period of. the year 2023.
Rental housing is also not exempt. According to Fotocasa data, their prices they increased by 9.3% in August compared to the same month of the previous year. A figure which places this increase in annual terms as the highest in the previous 18 months. Something which was not mitigated by the slight drop of 1.5% in prices in August compared to July 2024.
