Because the kitchen is unusable, Blanca has to wash her dishes in the bathtub, and she has improvised a cooking area with a gas camping stove in a corner of her living room.

Many of her fellow tenants in this apartment block near Madrid's Atocha railway station have similar problems. They say the company that owns the building has stopped responding to requests for basic maintenance in recent months, since informing them that it will not renew their rental contracts.

"The current rental bubble is encouraging a lot of big owners to do what they are doing here," says Blanca. "Which is to get rid of the current tenants who have been here a long time, in order to have short-term tourist flats, or simply to hike up the rent." Blanca and her fellow tenants have vowed to stay in the building despite what they see as efforts to push them out by the owners, who were not available for comment for this article. The tenancy contracts last five years, during which time rent is fixed, but this area of central Madrid has seen housing costs soar in recent years. "For another home like this [in this area], I'd have to pay double or more what I'm paying now," says Blanca. "It's not viable." (BBC)