Eighty-eight-year-old Maria, facing eviction from her rented home due to inability to buy, has had her fate changed by a visit. Cádiz Football Club President Manuel Vizcaino and his team visited her, informing her that the club is in the process of purchasing her apartment in El Pópulo district to ensure her rent remains affordable and prevent eviction. Maria will continue to pay her €97 monthly rent, which she has been paying for a small flat on Mesón Street for the past 57 years. The Cádiz Club Foundation has provided the deposit for the purchase, with the transaction expected to be completed within days.
Maria was just 14 days away from being evicted when she was spared. With a pension of €1,180, after her husband’s death eight years ago, she didn’t take over his old lease, not realizing the situation. Three months later, the landlord proposed new documents maintaining the low rent but compliant with current legislation. The landlord then started selling the 12 apartments in Mesón Street 9, and the new owner intended to use them for tourist rentals. As Maria couldn’t move due to unaffordable alternatives matching her pension or her daughters’ assistance, the case went through legal proceedings. A December 2022 ruling favored the Belttramis, but the eviction was postponed due to Maria’s fragile health, offering some respite for her and her family. However, an eviction order for June 26 seemed imminent.
Olivares learned of the potential change in his mother’s situation a week ago: “Pepe Mata (Cádiz Club Foundation manager) called me, and I cried with emotion, it was unbelievable.”
Last Wednesday, Mata, Vizcaino, and Vice President Rafael Contreras personally visited Maria’s home. Olivares recounts, “They didn’t look at the house. They were very humble and didn’t want media attention. They came to make sure my mother could stay in her home. Vizcaino told my mother, ‘Maria, you are now the owner of this house, no one will make you leave again.'”
During the visit, Maria couldn’t believe she wouldn’t have to leave her apartment. Olivares adds, “All she said was, ‘So I don’t have to leave here? Can I keep my things?'” Her family had previously tried to negotiate an extension of her tenancy with the landlord without success, while a charitable gentleman named Agustín Rubiales was renovating a property and offered to rent a unit to Maria at a reduced rate.
The case sparked anger in El Pópulo, an area that once struggled with crime but has since transformed thanks to European funds for housing renovations and residents’ efforts, becoming a hub for LGTBI communities and local crafts. However, over the past five years, many apartments have turned into tourist rentals, classified as Viviendas de Uso Turístico (VUT) by the Andalusian government.
Eight of the nine apartments in Mesón Street 9 were listed with the Andalusian Tourism Department, but five were rejected, and three are under review. Previously, the government changed the general urban plan, banning tourist accommodation in properties not highly protected.
The issue of tourist rentals is a concern in Cádiz, a city that has lost a third of its population in the last 30 years due to lack of job opportunities and limited urban space. Consequently, Olivares and the El Pópulo neighborhood platform decided to hold a rally at Maria’s doorstep on June 26 at 10 am in protest. Olivares says, “We continue because there are many Marias in Cádiz, my mother’s problem is solved, but many others are still struggling.”