Mariló and Javier, aged 62 and 63 with recognised dependency, were evicted on Thursday from their home on La Unión street, in the Málaga district of Cruz de Humilladero. The police operation involved five vans and blocked the road for hours.
A couple of pensioners with a degree of dependency found themselves homeless on Thursday after being evicted from their rented flat on La Unión street, in the Málaga district of Cruz de Humilladero. Mariló, 62, and Javier, 63, had been living in the property for thirteen years, paying around 500 euros a month.
The eviction, carried out by the National Police with support from the Local Police, mobilised five vans and forced the closure of one of the busiest streets in the area for several hours, according to the group 'A roof by right', which accompanied the couple.
The spokesperson for the platform, Ysabel Torralbo, described the operation as
“disproportionate for two sick people”and explained that the officers prevented activists trying to support the couple from accessing the building.
“At six thirty in the morning, four vans from the national police arrived along with a lot of local police, they blocked the street, did not allow the companions who were trying to enter the building at that moment to access, and expelled them outside, so Mariló and her husband were alone at the time of the eviction, which happened three hours later,”Torralbo recounted.
The owner of the property is a large landlord who owns five properties, according to the same source. The couple stopped paying rent when the owner decided not to renew the contracts, a practice that 'A roof by right' considers common in these cases.
Mariló and Javier have a recognised dependency level of 1 and 2 respectively. Javier suffers from a severe lung disease that exacerbates his vulnerability. Despite this, the court ordered the eviction, which was carried out without social services having offered a prior housing alternative.
During the eviction, dozens of people from various groups and activists against evictions gathered on La Unión street with banners and protest chants. The mobilisation did not succeed in stopping the execution, but it did bring visibility to the case.
After the eviction, the Málaga City Council, through Social Services, granted the couple a week's stay in a hostel. However, 'A roof by right' warns that after this period they will be back on the street.
“Right now we can say that we are without a housing alternative, in Social Services. We do not know very well what they are going to offer this couple of pensioners,”said Rosa Galindo, a member of the group.
The case has reopened the debate on the protection of vulnerable groups against evictions in Málaga. The platform 'A roof by right' demands that evictions be halted without a housing alternative and that mediation mechanisms be strengthened before reaching forced eviction.
The couple is now temporarily housed in the hostel, awaiting a more stable solution from social services. In the meantime, activists have announced they will continue to mobilise to prevent cases like this from happening again in the capital.
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