EXCLUSIVE: ‘We are being robbed’ – inside the Granada tent city where housing protesters inspired by Maricarmen vow to stay until rents fall

Inside the Granada tent city

AS he sat in a camping chair overlooking Granada’s Palacio de Congresos, Fadel looked out over the hundreds of tents pitched in the square. When we spoke to him on October 11, the 21-year-old university student and waiter had been camping in the 200-tent village for nine days – and with good reason.

Last year, he spent September without a mattress in his shared house, and this year he went a month without a working toilet flush and with a broken shower.

“I asked my landlord to do something about it, and even offered to fix everything myself. Nothing happened for weeks. People are being robbed of half their salary to pay rent, and yet the homeowner gets all the protections.”

Fadel is one of around 500 protesters who have camped on the esplanade since early October. They say they will stay put until their basic demands for affordable rents and tenants’ rights are met.

The catalyst for nationwide protests

Widespread housing protests and encampments began across Spain on September 23, sparked by the eviction of 87-year-old Maricarmen Abascal from the home she had rented for seven decades by an investment firm. Maricarmen died on October 7, two weeks after her eviction.

She has become something of a martyr for the ongoing housing protests across Spain, with memorials to her appearing at the centre of many encampments. The protests have also triggered a political storm, prompting prime minister Pedro Sanchez to call a snap election for November 29 after he failed to pass emergency housing legislation through parliament.

Alba, a 20-year-old social education student at the University of Granada who has been camping since Monday, insists a solution is urgently needed.

“We are not asking for anything extreme. We are asking for a basic human need. Who can live without a roof over their head? It’s not sustainable.”

The impact of tourism on housing costs

Protesters spoke of a power imbalance between renters and landlords, saying they felt unable to demand better conditions for fear of being told to leave. Celia, a 23-year-old hotel industry worker originally from Malaga, now lives in Granada with her mother and grandmother.

She has been camping with her boyfriend opposite the Palacio since the protests began. Like many others, Celia believes tourism is largely to blame for rising costs, while a study by property portal Fotocasa shows the average renter in Spain spends roughly 50% of their salary on rent.

She said:

“There should be fewer places for tourists. In Spain, we have a lot of problems and a lot of empty houses – and a lot of people who only want to rent to tourists because it’s quick money and they pay a lot more.”

Political responses and future uncertainty

Under Sanchez’s proposed housing decree, owners of tourist apartments in areas under housing pressure could face property tax surcharges of up to 150%. Although most protesters are in their 20s and 30s, families and older residents have also turned out to support Granada’s encampment.

Clara, a 76-year-old retired schoolteacher, sits on a bench beside young protesters painting banners. She was evicted in 2011 from a home she had rented for more than a decade and is now a member of campaign groups La Calle Mata and Stop Desahucios Granada 15M.

She said:

“I want to say that I’ve suffered, but not nearly as much as some. I didn’t end up on the street, and I was working, so I could rent another property. Landlords threaten, harass and sometimes even pay renters to look for somewhere else to live.”