Just two months ago, Zohra, her husband and their eight-year-old son were evicted from their home at number 31 Zurita Street in the Madrid neighbourhood of Lavapiés. They fought tooth and nail to stop it, but after two failed attempts, they were forced to leave the house they were living in despite their vulnerable situation.
At that time, Samur Social offered them a stay in the temporary reception centre of Las Caracolas, which is part of the Madrid City Council. This Wednesday, they will have to leave the centre without any possibility of accommodation since the Social Service considers that “during these two months, they have had time to find accommodation”. They have nowhere to go and are running out of time.
The couple and their young son were evicted despite meeting all the vulnerability conditions set out in the royal decree suspending evictions. However, the measure was applied following the judge’s decision not to apply the suspension, arguing that Zohra could not prove that her landlord owned 27 homes.
The family lives on a pension and a small minimum living income, an amount of money that is not enough to pay rent in the capital today. In addition, in most places, the requirements are to have a permanent contract and one year of stable work, conditions that are impossible for Zohra due to her economic and health situation.
As the Madrid Tenants’ Union explains, despite having been requesting social rent from the Social Services for over a year, the administrations have not responded and have informed Zohra that the 18th is the deadline to leave Las Shells. The union points out that despite the “disastrous conditions” of the reception center, it is not possible to stay there: “It is made up of prefabricated cells in which each family has a room without a kitchen in which to spend a few weeks until they are expelled.”
The group denounces that Zohra has had to endure “racist insults” from the Social Services, from where “they insist that during these two months she has had time to find a home that corresponds to her income.” However, finding a house at exorbitant prices, head-on opposition to renting to women with children and inaccessible demands is impossible for Zohra. That is why this Tuesday, September 17 at 11 a.m., the Madrid Tenants’ Union will meet at the gates of Las Caracolas to ask to delay the eviction of this family until they find alternative housing.
Zohra and her family’s fight
Last July, Zohra was evicted from the house she shared with her husband and eight-year-old son. They had already been evicted twice. Each time, on June 26 and July 16, the Tenants’ Union managed to paralyze the family’s two eviction attempts with the support of about fifty people on the street. However, the third time was the charm and they had to leave the house.
The family met all the vulnerability requirements of the Royal Decree suspending evictions in force, but the judge (Roberto Fernández Muñoz, President of the Court of First Instance No. 70) decided not to apply the protection measure, arguing that Zohra had not been able to demonstrate that her landlord owns 27 homes. Despite this, the evicted woman provided documentation proving that she owned a building in Lavapiés (the same one on Zurita Street where Zohra and her family lived) and other properties belonging to her.
In addition, the building in which they lived had serious maintenance problems, according to union sources. Bedbug and cockroach infestations, structural problems, fungi and humidity that affected the health of Zohra and her son, who has suffered from respiratory problems for two years. The family went four months without hot water because the owner did not repair the boiler and when there was a bedbug infestation, the services of the Madrid City Council had to intervene because the property also ignored it.
Faced with this situation of abandonment, Zohra and her family decided to stop paying the rent until the landlord also met his obligations. Finally, on July 24, the family had to leave their home and now, if they do not obtain an extension of their stay at the Las Caracolas shelter, they will remain on the street this Wednesday.
