Blanca Morillo, 73, has lived 24 years in her Gijón apartment paying 460 euros rent from a pension of just over 800. After the owner's death, her son wants to raise it to 600 euros, which she cannot afford. She denounces it as a disguised eviction and seeks support to keep her indefinite contract.
Blanca Morillo has resided for 24 years in an apartment on Avenida de Shulz in Gijón, Asturias. With a monthly pension just over 800 euros, she allocates more than 50% of her income to 460 euros rent, exceeding the one-third recommended by experts. The property has issues like no heating and dampness, worsening living conditions in Asturias's cold winter.
After the death of the owner, Rosario, Blanca hoped for a contract renewal. Instead, the son proposed a hike to 600 euros. For seven months, she saved 3,230 euros for rent, setting aside the amount each 25th, but refused to sign the new deal. "If they raise the rent to 600 euros as the owner's son wants, I can't pay it, because then I won't eat," she explains.
She describes the situation as a "disguised eviction" and turned to the Sindicato de Inquilinas de Asturias. Javier Linares, the union's spokesperson, states: "It's outrageous what they want to do to her, and she has no access to social housing because there isn't any." Despite 8,180 vacant homes in Gijón, Blanca only seeks to stay in her home with annual increases tied to the IPC, as she has done for two decades.
A conciliation hearing between the parties failed. At 73, Blanca has maintained the apartment herself, painting walls and requesting basic repairs that went unaddressed. "I'm not moving from here unless they drag me out," she declares. Linares warns that similar cases will rise with the review of 14,000 contracts in Asturias signed in 2020 during the pandemic, and calls for more social housing, referencing Vienna's model.
In Gijón, the crisis deepens: people are living in caravans due to lack of affordable options. Blanca prepares soup in her faulty kitchen while awaiting her granddaughter's visit, her main emotional support in this fight to "live peacefully" in her home.
