An 87-year-old woman whose eviction from her Barcelona apartment set off protests across Spain is returning home after a court halted the process.
Concepció Ramis was forced out of the flat she had lived in for decades after a real estate investment fund bought the building and raised her rent beyond what she could pay, according to Spanish media reports. She had continued paying roughly 600 euros a month under a decades-old lease agreement that the new owner refused to honor.
The eviction drew national attention after neighbors and housing activists gathered outside her building to block the removal. Video of Ramis being escorted from the property circulated widely on Spanish television and social media, turning her case into a symbol of the country's mounting housing crisis.
A Barcelona court ruled this week that Ramis can remain in the apartment while the dispute over her lease is resolved. The decision effectively suspends the eviction and allows her to return immediately.
"I'm going home," Ramis told reporters outside the building, according to El País. "I never wanted to leave."
Spain has seen a sharp rise in evictions over the past decade as rents in major cities like Barcelona and Madrid have climbed faster than wages. Investment funds have purchased thousands of residential buildings, often pushing out long-term tenants who hold older, below-market leases.
The Spanish government passed a housing law in 2023 aimed at capping rent increases and protecting vulnerable tenants, but enforcement has been uneven. Housing rights groups say the law has not moved fast enough to prevent cases like Ramis's.
Her case became a rallying point for tenant advocacy organizations, which have staged demonstrations in more than a dozen Spanish cities in recent weeks. Protesters carried signs bearing her name and demanded stronger protections for elderly renters.
The property owner, a fund managed by a Catalan investment firm, has not commented publicly on the court's decision. The company previously argued that it was legally entitled to renegotiate the lease after acquiring the building.
Ramis's lawyers say they will continue fighting to secure a permanent right to stay in the apartment. The court's ruling is temporary and a final decision on the lease dispute is expected in the coming months.
For now, Ramis is back in the home where she has lived since the 1960s. Neighbors who helped block her eviction gathered to welcome her return.
