La Laguna Eviction Returns Home to Hospitalized 87-Year-Old

A family has been evicted from a home in San Cristóbal de La Laguna after occupying it for over a year. This case highlights the vulnerability of elderly people without family support and shows how the justice system can respond. A court order allowed the property to be returned to its rightful owner, an 87-year-old woman who has been in the hospital since the occupation began.

Court number 3 in San Cristóbal de La Laguna ordered the eviction. A court team, supported by police officers, carried it out. The family living in the house then left and handed over the keys. These keys are now being held by the court until the 87-year-old owner, who is still in the University Hospital of the Canary Islands (HUC), can collect them.

The incident began in January 2025 when a couple and their five children moved into the owner's single-story house on Arzobispo Elías Yanes street. The court found that the elderly woman's situation – being in hospital and having no close family – made it easier for the family to get into the property without permission. They changed the lock and even installed a security system. This caused a lot of anger among people living in the La Laguna neighborhood, who rallied to support the woman.

The legal case concluded last July with a court hearing. Judge Laura Elguero Martín ruled that the woman leading the occupation was guilty of a minor offense of unlawful occupation. She was fined 540 euros, and the judge ordered her eviction and the return of the home to its owner. Although the convicted woman appealed this decision, the original sentence allowed for the property to be returned provisionally, which meant the eviction could still proceed.

During the court proceedings, the elderly owner testified via video call from the hospital, confirming she had never given the family permission to stay in her home. The defendant, however, claimed they had a close relationship and that she had been given temporary permission to live there due to a personal family conflict. To support her story, she presented a video recorded in the owner's hospital room. But the judge concluded that the images did not prove any consent. A faint sound similar to a "yes" in the video was interpreted by the judge as evidence of the elderly woman's vulnerable situation and the defendant exploiting it. The judge also questioned the occupant's credibility, pointing out that changing the locks and installing an alarm without consent indicated her intention to remain in the property.