Virgina María Rodríguez, a victim of gender violence and mother of three girls aged 5, 12 and 14, is facing eviction from a house owned by Banco Popular that she occupied in Nicaragua Street in Arrecife two years ago, after arriving from Fuerteventura "fleeing" the "harassment" of her previous partner. "I don't think it's fair," says the affected woman. According to her, the bank promised to "rent" her the house, but now it has "transferred it to a real estate company", which is the one that has initiated her eviction, which has been set for May 17.
"I lived in Fuerteventura with my three daughters, I suffered abuse from my partner towards me and towards one of my daughters and I reported it," Virginia told La Voz, who claims that "as the harassment was so much" and "the threats she received" that he "was going to kill her", she decided to go to another island. According to the sentence to which this media has had access, her previous partner was only sentenced to 100 days of community service despite the fact that in the trial he admitted to having grabbed Virginia "by the hair" and thrown her "to the ground" and having "intimidated" one of her daughters by threatening to break her legs.
Thus, Virginia disembarked in Lanzarote with her three daughters, but according to her, she only arrived "with unemployment benefits of 426 euros" and, therefore, she decided to occupy the house from which she will now be evicted if the Court of First Instance number 3 of Arrecife does not make another determination.
She was acquitted of a crime of usurpation
For occupying it, she already faced a trial after Banco Popular denounced her for a crime of usurpation but, although she was sentenced in the first instance to pay a fine of 180 euros and to vacate the house, she appealed the ruling and was acquitted by the Provincial Court. And it is that after the first sentence, "both parties" initiated conversations to reach an agreement" to "inhabit the house legally", so the court considered that the owner "consented" that Virginia remained in the property, according to the ruling issued by the Second Section.
In addition, the Provincial Court pointed out that the bank "at no time" required Virginia to vacate and that it was not even aware "that there had been an effective taking of possession that revealed the true possessory status of the property". According to the sentence, although Banco Popular acquired the property "by payment in kind of debts" in "March 2015", it was not "until September 29, 2016" that it verified that it was occupied "by third parties, not knowing if they already occupied the house at the time of acquisition".
Thus, the Provincial Court pointed out that Virginia's conduct could not be understood as a crime of usurpation, pointing out that in any case "it would be a civil matter" and that the bank should initiate a new procedure through this channel.
A rental agreement that, however, "never materialized"
After that, Virginia claims that she reached "an agreement" with the bank by which it promised to "rent" her the house, although she has admitted not having evidence of this, since she has indicated that "the rental agreement never materialized" and that everything was "through telephone conversations". Thus, later she was "surprised" that Inmobiliaria Inversiones Limara had initiated her eviction through civil proceedings. And it is that, according to the affected woman, Banco Popular, now Banco Santander, has "transferred" the house to this real estate company.
"And it is not fair that they have given the house to a real estate company when they told us that they were going to rent it to us", said Virginia, who nevertheless indicated that before the eviction, specifically on March 25, they have a new act in the Court for this matter and that she hopes "to be able to reach an agreement".
"We cannot afford a rent of 600 euros"
Despite this, Virginia assures that she has toured "all of Arrecife looking for rental houses", but affirms that "the only ones there are cost 500 or 600 euros". "And we cannot afford it," she pointed out. And it is that, according to her, she is "unemployed" and only does "occasional jobs through a temporary employment agency" and, although she now lives with her current partner, who does work, she affirms that "he earns the minimum".
"It is not that we want to live for free, we want to pay for a house, but a rent that we can pay. And that is what we are doing, to see if someone gives us a rent," claims Virginia, who has also registered as an applicant for the intermediation of the Canarian Housing Institute, "being in active search of an apartment suitable to her circumstances".
For its part, the Platform for Decent Housing of Lanzarote has denounced that this eviction is going to take place "without a housing alternative" and has indicated that it will carry out "social mobilizations in its support".