The Government attacks Ayuso over the luxury penthouse bought with public money: "For her, penthouses; for healthcare, waiting lists"

The Government has charged this Wednesday against Isabel Díaz Ayuso for the purchase with public money of a luxury penthouse in Chamberí. Óscar Puente, Mónica García, Isabel Rodríguez and Sira Rego have questioned the expenditure, the lack of transparency and the explanations offered by the regional president of Madrid about the future of the property.

The operation was carried out on April 14 by Planifica Madrid, the public company in charge of managing land and offices of the Community. The acquisition was not included in its budget for 2026, remains outside its transparency portal and has only been known three months later, after being discovered by 'El País' in the Property Registry.

The property has 485 square meters, of which 199 correspond to a terrace, and is located on the ninth floor of a residential building on Paseo del General Martínez Campos. The regional Government still does not reveal how much it paid, although real estate estimates place its value between five and seven million euros.

Puente and Mónica García raise the tone

Óscar Puente has summarized his reaction in a phrase that has quickly spread through social networks. "How he makes fun of everyone", the Minister of Transport wrote when sharing the information about the purchase of the penthouse to use it as Ayuso's temporary "office".

Mónica García has also used the president's response to ironize about the operation. "Ayuso is a victim of having bought a six-million-euro apartment with public money", the Minister of Health wrote after the popular leader denounced an alleged "smear campaign".

The head of Health also recalled that the purchase was not budgeted and remained unknown to the public for three months. "For Quirón, millions. For Ayuso, penthouses. For public health, waiting lists. Madrid is not her private estate", García added.

Isabel Rodríguez has brought the controversy to the housing sector. The Minister of Housing has reproached Ayuso for rejecting the application of the state law that would allow declaring stressed areas in Madrid municipalities governed by the PSOE and limiting rent increases.

"Ayuso refuses to freeze the rents of thousands of Madrilenians while buying penthouses in pairs. It is clear that the only home that matters to her is her own," Rodríguez stated.

Sira Rego has compared the purchase to Vox's decision to abolish a 17-euro allowance for unaccompanied migrant minors in Aragon. For the Minister of Youth and Childhood, the priorities of the right and far-right involve withdrawing that aid and "buying a luxury penthouse for Ayuso".

Minister Óscar López has demanded that the regional government offer immediate explanations. "First a chalet in Rascafría. Now a penthouse in Chamberí. Millions of euros from all Madrilenians. For the use and enjoyment of Mrs. Ayuso," denounced the general secretary of the Madrid PSOE.

López has demanded to know "how, how much, why and for what" the property was bought and has questioned whether a temporary office needs a terrace of almost 200 square meters. The minister has also contrasted the expense with the resources dedicated by the Community of Madrid to fire prevention and extinction.

Ayuso denies personal use and leaves the cost unclear

Ayuso has assured that the penthouse will serve to temporarily host institutional meetings during the comprehensive renovation of the Real Casa de Correos. "It is not my house, it is not my residence, it is not for me and nothing has been bought for Ayuso," she defended during the press conference after the Governing Council.

The president has accused the media of trying to turn public opinion against her while Madrid faces the consequences of the fires. She has also stated that she is unaware of the details of the sale and how the transfer will be organized during the works.

Her answers have left several questions open. Ayuso has not revealed the price, why it was decided to buy instead of rent, nor the reasons for choosing a residential property when Planifica Madrid already owns ten complete buildings intended for offices.

The official explanation has also changed throughout the day. The Community initially presented the penthouse as Ayuso's future provisional office, but sources of her utmost confidence later acknowledged that this decision "is not one hundred percent made" and that its destination will be resolved in October or November, once the property has been remodeled.

Puente returned hours later to the controversy with another message. "The complete pack," he wrote, sharing that the seller is Astrid Gil-Casares, an economist, writer, and ex-wife of Ferrovial's president, Rafael del Pino.

The Epstein case documents published this year in the United States recorded the contacts Gil-Casares maintained with Jeffrey Epstein between 2017 and 2019, up to the dates close to his arrest. The seller's identity has been attributed by 'El País' to two sources familiar with the sale.

Planifica Madrid is also the heir of Arpegio, a public company that appears in one of the pieces of the 'Púnica' case for alleged irregularities in land awards and infrastructure contracts during Francisco Granados's time. That piece was sent to trial in May. These antecedents are, for now, unrelated to the legality of the current purchase, but Puente has used them to increase political pressure on Ayuso.

Madrid opposition demands the price of the penthouse

Criticism has also spread among Madrid's left-wing parties. Manuela Bergerot has described the property as "Ayuso's third penthouse in Chamberí" and has linked the controversy to the business dealings of Alberto González Amador, the president's partner, with the Quirón healthcare group.

"This one is not paid by Quirón, we all pay for it. Including the 200 square meter terrace to receive visits as president," the Más Madrid spokesperson in the Assembly denounced. Rita Maestre has also asked the regional Executive to reveal how much the operation cost.

The PSOE's Organization Secretary, Rebeca Torró, referred to the popular leader as "Isabel Díaz Penthouses" and demanded that Alberto Núñez Feijóo speak out. "What else is yet to come out? Eager to know what Feijóo thinks about Ayuso's new office, in a residential penthouse with a 200-meter terrace," she wrote.

In addition to the economic doubts, there is a possible urban planning problem anticipated by 'ElConstitucional.es'. The review of Madrid's General Urban Planning Plan carried out by this newspaper indicates that the public administration's endowment use can only be implemented up to the first floor in buildings with that classification, while the acquired penthouse is on the ninth floor.

The PSOE's Urban Planning spokesperson in the City Council, Antonio Giraldo, shares that interpretation. Más Madrid has asked to know the reform project and the definitive use intended for the dwelling. The Community still has not published the price, the operation's documentation, or the acquisition on the Planifica Madrid transparency portal.