The housing crisis is not just a headline; it is a lived reality for many. In Madrid, specifically in the Vallecas neighborhood, a two-story house located at number 9 Pedro Escudero Street is becoming a symbol of the transformations and challenges facing the real estate market. This modest construction, reminiscent of Antonio Buero Vallejo's “Historia de una escalera,” reflects the frustrations and struggles of different generations in a changing Spain.
The transformation of Vallecas: from a working-class neighborhood to a real estate target
Built in 1964, when Palomeras was a district of low houses and unpaved streets, Pedro Escudero Street has witnessed significant changes. Luis González, who managed a mechanical workshop in the lower part of the house for 36 years, recalls that «it was a working-class neighborhood. We were all workers». However, with the passage of time, family businesses gave way to locutorios, Latin food businesses, and bars offering tequeños instead of torreznos. The "El País" (2025) article «Del origen obrero de los años 60 al tiburón inmobiliario y el okupa: la crisis de la vivienda en una casa de Vallecas» describes this evolution as a microcosm of Madrid's broader housing crisis.
The irruption of real estate sharks
With the saturation of the city center after the pandemic, neighborhoods like Vallecas became attractive to speculators. Carlos Scafati, an Argentine-Spanish businessman, acquired the house and began renovations through his real estate company. The old workshop was converted into a home, and the family home on the first floor was divided into five rooms for rent. «Where spark plugs used to be changed, there is now a home ready to be rented,» reports Jacobo García (2025) in his chronicle for "El País". The facade, which previously had two windows, now has three doors leading to a balcony, which is advertised as the main attraction of «double rooms» that cost €750 per month.
A profitable business at the cost of precariousness
Currently, the house is rented to a variety of people: a Glovo worker, an undocumented immigrant, a clerk. Rooms are offered for temporary rentals, a common strategy for landlords to circumvent state rental laws and maximize profits. These types of contracts, while on the edge of legality, are attractive to those without proper documentation. According to Idealista, renting a 70-square-meter apartment in Vallecas that cost €630 ten years ago now costs around €1,000. This has resulted in a swarm of rooms generating up to €10,000 per month, allowing Scafati to move his office to a more elegant location in San Bernardo.
The crisis of housing and the destruction of small businesses
The evolution of Vallecas reflects a broader crisis of housing and the decline of small businesses. In 2022, the first year of normalcy after the pandemic, five businesses closed every day, and more than 1,800 businesses were converted into apartments. Despite this, the City Council processed only fifty records to transform businesses into homes last year, a figure that contrasts sharply with what is seen on the street. According to the land registry, number 9 Pedro Escudero Street is still a family home with a patio and commercial space.
- Increase in rental prices: The prices of rental housing have increased significantly in Vallecas, making access to housing difficult for many people.
- Conversion of commercial spaces into housing: The transformation of premises into homes accelerates the destruction of small businesses.
- Precarious employment: Many tenants are precarious workers, such as Glovo employees or undocumented immigrants, who are vulnerable to abusive rental practices.
The appearance of the 'squatter'
As if the story of Pedro Escudero Street needed another actor, a 'squatter' appeared this week. Aitor, unemployed and living with his mother and four siblings in Vallecas, decided to occupy the premises, supported by the PAH, the anti-eviction platform of Vallecas. «Neither people without homes nor homes without people,» says Aitor, defending the occupation of empty homes, which number around 260,000 in the Community of Madrid, according to a report by Tinsa (García, 2025).
Two days after Aitor occupied the place, two men threatened him, demanding that he leave. Shortly after, a eviction company, DIO Express, appeared, demanding that he leave the house. “What house?” Aitor replied, referring to the old workshop. In the theater of frustration at number 9 Pedro Escudero, the 'squatter' is the last to arrive on the ladder of irregularities.
«The housing crisis in Madrid is a complex problem with deep roots, reflecting broader issues of social inequality and economic speculation»
The story of number 9 Pedro Escudero Street is a reflection of the challenges facing many residents of Madrid and other cities. The transformation of a working-class neighborhood into a real estate target, the rise in rental prices, the precariousness of employment, and the appearance of squatting are all symptoms of a crisis that requires urgent and effective solutions.
References
García, J. (2025, March 30). Del origen obrero de los años 60 al tiburón inmobiliario y el okupa: la crisis de la vivienda en una casa de Vallecas. El País. Retrieved from https://elpais.com/espana/madrid/2025-03-30/del-origen-obrero-de-los-anos-60-al-tiburon-inmobiliario-y-el-okupa-la-crisis-de-la-vivienda-en-una-casa-de-vallecas.html
