A 73-year-old retiree, resident in Mahón (Maó), in Menorca, says he was forced to live in a rented room for 400 euros a month because his house has been occupied for several years, and, even so, he continues to pay the mortgage and housing costs, resorting to help from his family to survive.
The case was reported in Menorca and gained media attention for exposing the tension between property rights and social protection for families considered vulnerable, an issue that continues to generate controversy in Spain.
On Spanish radio COPE Menorca, a family member of the owner, José Simbaña, described the economic and emotional impact of the situation and left a sentence that sums up the frustration: “I don’t know how the law is made”.
Four years without a home and a debt that keeps growing
According to the report published, the pensioner had the property rented and, when he informed the tenants that he needed the house, he stopped receiving rent and payments for expenses associated with housing, accumulating a debt of more than 28 thousand euros in rent.
The problem gets worse because, despite not being able to live in their own property, they are still obliged to fulfill the mortgage and bear costs such as electricity and water, which, in practice, depletes their monthly financial capacity.
The relative also states that more than a thousand euros have already been spent on lawyers and resources, without, so far, the process having allowed the recovery of possession of the house.
“My father-in-law’s monthly payment is all gone”: the effect on day-to-day bills
According to the testimony given at COPE Menorca, the pensioner’s pension will be around 1,200 euros, but between the mortgage, the room rented for 400 euros and current expenses, the budget is at its limit.
This is why, according to the family, it has been necessary to ask family members for money to guarantee basic expenses, in a situation described as “bad living” and with no prospect of a quick resolution.
The family considers that the institutional response is slow and feels that there is no equivalent protection for the owner, despite being an elderly person with limited income.
What hinders the recovery of the house: “vulnerable family” and minors
According to what was reported in the interview, and cited by the Spanish portal, one of the main obstacles to the return of the property is the fact that the occupying family is considered vulnerable and has minors, which makes it difficult to carry out eviction measures.
There are also references, in the testimony, to suspicions that one of the occupants works, but without declaring income, something pointed out by neighbors, although this is not presented as a proven fact in the reports cited.
José Simbaña asks that social services, which support the vulnerable family, “also” protect the owner, arguing that the objective is to allow the retired person to return to live in their home and have a stable old age.
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