Barcelona allocates over €7m in aid to prevent evictions

In 2024, the Barcelona City Council allocated more than €7 million in aid to prevent evictions and reduce reliance on emergency temporary accommodations (ATUs), representing a 25% increase from 2023.

According to figures shared with the Catalan News Agency (ACN), this funding supported 15,000 grants aimed at helping people keep their homes and limiting the use of hostels as temporary shelters.

Last year, around 3,000 people per month stayed at ATUs, an average of 1,700 adults and 1,300 children. In total, the city spent €38 million on emergency accommodations in 2024, the same amount that is set to be spent in 2025.

Meanwhile, the city council is working with the social sector to find alternatives to hostel-based housing.

Improving temporary housing

Barcelona’s current ATU portfolio stands at 247, which includes 160 apartments, 27 pensions, 5 hostels, 17 centers or resources with professional social support, 7 shelters, and 31 independent living apartments.  

This year, three new centers with 120 new spaces have been added.  

However, pensions are often not an ideal solution because they lack privacy and don’t always offer a place to cook or a private bathroom, and do not offer a suitable space for children. 

Last year, the city’s Ombudsman received several complaints about the conditions of shelters and pensions, and after an inspection four establishments were removed from the system, while seven remain under review.

In response, the city has increased its budget for financial aid to “improve the situation and help people regain more stable and autonomous lives,” according to a city official.

Preventative measures

One of the measures to prevent evictions is to provide preventive financial aid. This includes negotiating with landlords to settle debts and allowing families to remain in their homes.

The effort is coordinated through the Municipal Housing Institute and the Service for Intervention in Housing Loss and Occupancy (SIPHO).

Financial aid is also available for those who already live in temporary emergency housing. In those cases, “social services evaluate the situation of everyone and offer improvement plans and refer to the appropriate social resources,” explain city council sources to ACN.

In all cases, though, people are linked to professional caseworkers who monitor their situation.

Most stay over 6 months

Currently, more than 65% of the people in the ATU system stay longer than six months, according to city council figures. And, the city’s Ombudsman David Bondia says that in many cases, many stay over two years, which he says is “concerning”.

Although the city council acknowledges that most cases exceed six months, they also stress that ATUs are meant to be a temporary solution to help people maintain normalcy and autonomy.

The city is now developing new types of spaces that can be used as temporary housing through projects with socio-educational support. The spaces will be managed by the city and social organizations, but the city council admits that it’s “difficult to find housing or accommodation in Barcelona."