Grandmother in Spain who was facing eviction to make way for tourist flats is saved by local football team

A LOCAL football team has come to the rescue of an 88-year-old resident of Cadiz, who was facing eviction from her home of the last 57 years to make way for a tourist apartment. 

The plan to throw Maria Muñoz out of her house sparked outrage in the area, with the octogenarian given an ultimatum: she could either leave or buy the property outright for €147,000, a sum that was beyond her means. 

Once her story came to light, however, residents’ platforms began to search for a solution to the situation. 

In the end, the local football team Cadiz CF came up with the money through its foundation, buying the property for her and drawing up an indefinite rental agreement so that she can stay put. 

Read more: Outrage after 88-year-old woman told to leave her home so it can be turned into a tourist apartment

The Fundacion del Cadiz has paid the full sum of €147,000, and will charge Muñoz her previous rent of just €92 a month. 

The octogenarian has occupied the apartment since 1967, back when it was rented out by rooms. She lived there with her husband Antonio, and had her three children there.

In the 1990s, the property was refurbished, but she and her husband continued to pay what is known in Spain as renta antigua, or ‘old rent’, which is basically a small sum that has not been updated in line with inflation. 

It was when her husband died in 2016 that her problems began. Legally, she was required to transfer the contract over to her name, which she failed to do within the specified timeframe given that she was unaware of this requirement. 

A new contract was then signed, with the €97 monthly rent. But there was a time limit to the contract, and in recent years the owners of the property began to sell the other apartments. 

The new owners of the other apartments have converted them into tourist accommodation, and visitors dragging trolley suitcases regularly come and go, many oblivious to the signs that have sprung up in protest against the situation of tourist massification of the neighbourhood or indeed Maria’s plight.