The data on evictions are not isolated figures. They represent the tragedy of many families that from one day to the next find themselves on the street and in many cases with a debt that will haunt them for life.
On Huelva, a city with more than 8,000 empty houses, Paula and her two children were left homeless eight months ago. “They were very hard moments, of absolute despair. What kept me awake the most was where I would take my children that night ”Paula does not want her real name or surname to appear because feel ashamed for not being able to offer his family something as basic as a home: “My oldest son has received all kinds of derogatory comments at school, from insults such as ‘you’re a sintecho’ even not wanting to play with him at recess ”, he confesses.
This situation reinforces the idea that violence towards families who suffer eviction goes far beyond the very helplessness due to homelessness. “You never think it’s going to touch you but when it does it’s heartbreaking,” says Paula. “Overnight your life changes, you constantly suffer from anxiety and the institutions, when you get them to listen to you, assure you that their hands are tied. And let’s not talk about the banks anymore ”.
Despite the new anti-eviction legislation, the moratoriums approved by the Government and Royal Decree-Law 37/2020, of December 22, which expressly prohibits the evictions of people in vulnerable situations, evictions have not stopped occurring: “I am a victim of sexist violence. I have a sentence that proves it, two minor children and they threw us out anyway, what more do they need? ”, The young woman wonders.
And, according to data provided by the General Council of the Judiciary (CGPJ) in a recent report, the number of evictions executed throughout the State during the first quarter of 2021 reached a total of 10,961 households, which is a 13.4% growth compared to 2020.
Only in the province of Huelva have they been produced this year 521 foreclosures of which 303 have been carried out on dwellings, according to official CGPJ statistics. This data represents a significant increase over the figures obtained last year, which closed with 269 houses intervened approaching the 357 obtained in 2018, although still far from the maximum peak of the figures of 2017, when in the middle of the real estate crisis, 616 homes were reached.
The positive data in the province is collected by the number of homes that are property of tax persons versus those belonging to private companies. In 2020, only 89 of the 303 dwellings that have been judicially object belong to people who have not been able to face the mortgage credit. A figure in decline compared to 174 in 2019 and 202 in 2018. This fact is a direct consequence, as explained by the PAH, of the hangover of the real estate crisis in which many people put a personal home as collateral for the mortgage loan .
Among the main reasons for the launches, affirms the constitutional body, in the first place are those that are a direct consequence of the Urban lease law (LAU) with 72% of the cases registered and 7,862 executions; second, the non-payment of mortgage loans with 23.2% and 2,548 cases. Finally, the remaining 551 responded to “other causes”. These data suppose an increase of 6.5% during the first three months of the year and, more worryingly, the first upturn in year-on-year terms since 2015.
By Autonomous Communities, Andalusia is the second territory with the highest number of families affected (1,778) only surpassed by Catalonia with 2,437, a figure that represents 22.2% of the total for the State. The Catalan case is, if possible, more worrying since, despite having a specific law on the ceiling of the rental price, more than 75% of the launches are produced due to rent defaults (1,835). They are followed by the País Valencià with 1553 and Madrid, with 1.033.
Evictions are cruel to common homes
The coronavirus crisis has had a decisive impact on common homes. According to INE data, during the first quarter of the year, there were 3,207 foreclosures about this type of home, which means an 84.1%, the highest number in four years. Also increased, although to a lesser extent, those of unusual dwellings until you are in 682, a 22.3% more.
These figures, however, they only represent a part of evictions in Spain, specifically, those corresponding to mortgage defaults. The problem is broader since most of the evictions in our country are carried out in those families who live on a rental basis. Specific, 7 out of 10 evictions are leased tenants, which represents 68%, according to the latest data provided by this same body.
About evictions for non-payment of mortgage credit, Andalusia was the most affected territory with 576 pitches executed, followed by País Valencià (468), Catalunya (407) and Murcia (263).
The drama of habitual dwellings and the significant increase in evictions from these is explained by the increased economic hardship that many families go through, forced to choose between paying the mortgage or eating.
Despite the measures taken by the central government such as the mortgage moratorium to make payment conditions more flexible (March 2020) or the ICO loan lines With the endorsement of the Official Credit Institute (ICO), the measures have not been effective to stop the bleeding of executions on the habitual homes of many families.
It should be clarified, however, that these data provided by the INE do not exactly correspond to evictions. Foreclosures are a process through which the lender claims the amounts owed from the borrower. A litigation then begins in which said persons may or may not reach an agreement. Only when there is no consensus between them, the court can execute said mortgage and proceed to eviction.
More than 25,000 evictions in 2022
The Platform for People Affected by Mortgages (PAH) has warned that this is “a critical situation” for the stability of many families. With the end of the mortgage moratorium scheduled for August 9, the PAH estimates that there could be a real eviction hemorrhage throughout the state. Specifically, the Platform estimates that there could be up to 25,000 evictions, which would include families with minors or dependents in charge.
The PAH has already begun to mobilize to avoid this scenario. In Catalonia, the territory most affected by this scourge, the Parliament will vote next Tuesday a new law of urgent measures to alleviate the housing emergency. The new legislation, which will have a sufficient parliamentary majority thanks to the favorable votes of ERC, Junts, the CUP and En Comú Podem, includes a historical requirement of the organization such as social rent.
“The Law recovers the obligation to offer a social rent vulnerable families due to the expiration of contracts and, in some cases, employment ”, he explains Lucia Delgado, PAH spokesperson. Said demands were already included in Decree 17/2019, overthrown by the Constitutional Court, at the request of the PP, due to a formal defect.
At the state level, the anti-eviction platform is also working to promote the Law for the Right to Housing, a maxim of the PSOE in the electoral campaign. The entity understands that, if approved, the new legislation could remain “on paper” if some basic elements are not addressed, such as the need to ensure and expand the public park for social rental, the regulation of the price of rents or the Modification of the urban leasing law to protect tenants within the State.
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