SAREB halts eviction of eight Las Palmas families, opens rent talks

Among the tenants of the property at 8 Nicolás Estévanez Street are children and elderly people who are unwell. A judge had authorised their eviction this very morning at 10.00.

This was the third time SAREB had attempted to evict them from the property in the last year and a half, but on Tuesday afternoon the company itself approached the court to request a postponement and offered to mediate a solution with the citizens‘ platform ‚Derecho al Techo‘.

After a few hours of uncertainty, because the protection provided by the decree-law approved by the Council of Ministers does not come into force until Thursday, and with dozens of local residents and housing rights campaigners gathered outside the building, the court officials have confirmed that the eviction has been postponed.

Las Palmas: Families are to remain in their homes for the time being

The news has been met with relief by the families and applause from activists from the ‚Derecho al Techo‘ platform, who had been barricaded at the entrance to the building since 8.00 am in an attempt to halt the eviction.

Isabel Saavedra, a lawyer with Derecho al Techo, has explained that SAREB wishes to enter into negotiations, with this citizens‘ platform acting as mediator, to formalise social housing tenancy agreements for the eight families living in the building, some of whom have been assessed as vulnerable, and include minors and people with health conditions.

Saavedra pointed out that the vulnerability reports drawn up by Las Palmas de Gran Canaria City Council were sent to SAREB a year ago, and that SAREB had assured them at the time that it would assess them with a view to offering them a social housing tenancy; however, it subsequently submitted a further eviction application.

«The important thing is that these families will be able to sleep in their own homes tonight. There are children and elderly people who are ill, so we are talking about extremely vulnerable people with no alternative accommodation. These homes would otherwise have been locked up, empty and fitted with anti-squatter locks,» he said.

SAREB acquired flats following the landlord's insolvency

The lawyer explained that these families have been living in the property for several years and were even paying rent to a company that went into liquidation, a bankruptcy that enabled SAREB to acquire the flats and begin proceedings to enforce their eviction.

«Families have always wanted to pay, but they haven’t known who to pay because SAREB has not allowed them any means of payment,» argued this spokesperson for Derecho al Techo.

Those affected want to secure their tenancies legally

Following the approval of the two new decree-laws on housing, the legal representative of Derecho al Techo has stated that they will take the matter to court to halt all ongoing evictions of vulnerable families, whom they will endeavour to inform so that they can review their tenancy agreements with a view to requesting an extension.

One of those who has benefited from the suspension of this eviction, Banina Mbirkate, has emphasised that she wants to «pay rent» and put an end to the anxiety caused by the uncertainty: «We want to pay; we don’t want to live for free, but so far we haven’t known who to pay.»

With a one-and-a-half-year-old child to look after, Mbirkate has explained that she has been living in this building since 2020 and that she had an agreement with the building’s previous owner, a property agency, to pay the rent every six months.

Following the company’s bankruptcy, SAREB purchased the building and, in November 2023, began the process of evicting the eight families. As a result, over the past few months, Mbirkate has been trying to find alternative accommodation, but has been unable to do so «despite having contracts» as security.

With the eviction suspended once again, his family and the other seven households will be able to continue living in the building, following SAREB’s promise to negotiate social housing tenancy agreements.