Tenants at number 3 Calle Antillón in Puerta del Ángel, Madrid, refuse to pay double the rent demanded by their landlord, businessman Fernando David Villar Ausocua. Backed by the Tenants' Union, they demand new contracts at the same price after five years. They denounce the owner's greed, involved in up to 25 companies.
In the Puerta del Ángel neighborhood, in Madrid's Latina district, residents of the building at number 3 Calle Antillón face a 100% rent increase. The owner, Fernando David Villar Ausocua, seeks to double the monthly payments upon the expiration of five-year contracts, as per the Urban Leases Law (LAU). The tenants, organized with the Madrid Tenants' Union, have released a forceful video where three neighbors directly accuse him.
"Greed, covetousness, ambition. Or as we like to say, Fernando David Villar Ausocua", the clip begins, set to the song 'Ama, ama, ama y ensancha el alma' by Robe Iniesta. They describe the hike as "insulting" amid the housing crisis. "It makes no sense that, in the current housing crisis, people like this think they can do whatever they want with our homes", they state.
Villar Ausocua holds executive positions in multiple companies, including Grupo Vibau, a real estate developer with annual billing over 500,000 euros; Raomi SL, focused on property promotion and rental; and Funerarias El Recuerdo, managing funeral homes in Seville, Málaga, and Madrid. According to the residents, he is not content with profits from one, two, or three, but up to 25 companies, also citing one involved in stone cutting and finishing.
The neighborhood suffers speculation from vulture funds like Madlyn, converting homes into tourist rentals and altering the social fabric. Over the last five years, average rent in Latina has risen 70%, reaching 18.1 euros per square meter, and 20 euros in Puerta del Ángel, per Idealista. The tenants insist: "We're not leaving, we're staying. Mr. Villar Ausocua, we remind you that greed breaks the bag. We won't allow you to evict us from our homes. Against your rentier violence, tenant power".
"We don't want to abandon our homes, nor for Puerta del Ángel to become Madrid's tourist complex", they conclude, highlighting their resistance in a context of widespread price surges.
