Malaga family facing eviction no longer at risk of homelessness thanks to social housing

A happy ending for Soledad Troncoso and her family, who were facing eviction this Thursday, without the ability of finding a home or paying for it.

As SUR reported on Monday, the family has been living in their rented flat for 18 years, paying their 700-euro rent every month. With the 1,800-euro income they piece together from Soledad's salary at the TechPark and her mother's pension, they wouldn't be able to find a flat big enough to accommodate the two women and Soledad's brother and son, not with Malaga's real estate market.

"They're asking us to have an income of between 3,000 and 4,000 euros to rent us a place," Soledad Troncoso said at a press conference on Monday.

Soledad, 66, lives with her 95-year-old mother María, who has severe respiratory problems, her 68-year-old brother Ramón and her 39-year-old son Álex. Álex cannot work due to a disability.

They were all concerned about not having found a home by Thursday and potentially sleeping rough that night.

According to city council sources, cross-referencing the household's data with the municipal housing institute revealed that the family had been awarded a social housing unit last October.

SUR has obtained the documentation confirming this. The recipient is Álex, although the unit is for the entire household. It is an adapted home designed to accommodate his 95-year-old grandmother, who has mobility issues and is dependent on a ventilator.

The property is located in the R1 'Rosa de Gálvez' housing development, which comprises 84 flats, parking spaces and storage units. These are special rental flats, with three bedrooms (80 units) and adapted two-bedroom units (four) for people using a wheelchair, with reduced mobility or other disabilities.

Rents, depending on household income, range from 264.60 to 378.25 euros per month plus residential fees.

Speaking to SUR, Soledad said that she had received a phone call from Mayor of Malaga Francisco de la Torre on Tuesday. He told her she had to go to the municipal housing institute first thing Wednesday morning to get all the details.

He reminded her that her family had entered several draws for social housing and told her she may have been awarded one of those homes. "I was so excited when he told me," she said. "It seems to be in my son's name. I always checked under my own name and never found anything," she said, eager for Wednesday morning to arrive so she could share all the details.

On the phone with SUR, she seemed cautious, not wanting to say too much, as if she still couldn't quite believe it.

The house isn't finished yet. It's scheduled to be handed over in September or October. In the meantime, the city council has promised the family to provide them with alternative housing.

Soledad can finally live in peace. "My mother won't be sleeping on the street."