Andorran Family Evicted After 12 Years, Moves In with Daughter Amid Rental Crisis

A couple from Sant Julià de Lòria, long-term residents of an apartment for 12 years, have moved in with their daughter after receiving an eviction notice and failing to find an affordable rental amid soaring prices and limited supply. The family now faces the prospect of leaving Andorra entirely.

The 62-year-old Andorran father, prejubilated since age 60 after a career as a civil servant, and his 56-year-old Spanish wife, who has worked in retail since arriving in the Principality at 16, got a burofax at the end of May. It demanded they vacate by 30 September so the landlady's grandson, the new property manager, could use it for himself. Their initial five-year lease had renewed annually with rents adjusted to the IPC.

After four months of searching across Sant Julià and elsewhere, no suitable options emerged. Rents exceed €2,000 a month, availability is scarce, and landlords often reject their small dog. Even acquaintances with properties in the parish reported none free. The daughter, 37, sought permission from her own landlord and received approval for her parents to join her. The move has begun, with much of their furniture already transported by van.

They own a small house in Spain—purchased last year out of fears over Andorra's rental market—which has become a likely long-term refuge. The wife still works and qualifies for a pension here in several years, but the family contacted the Institut Nacional de l'Habitatge (INH), which confirmed the notice complied with regulations and offered no recourse.

The daughter described the upheaval's heavy emotional weight, especially on her mother, who spent months distressed and initially hid the situation from others due to shame. "We're locals and can't find anywhere to live. They're going to drive everyone out of the country," she said. She noted a reversal of roles: "Before, children went to their parents' home; now parents have to go to their children's."

The family will keep looking until the deadline but sees departure as increasingly inevitable. The father resists leaving his homeland, while the daughter warned she might follow if left alone and unable to cope.