Casa Orsola eviction postponed until February 18

The eviction of a tenent in the Casa Orsola building in Barcelona has been postponed until February 18, according to the Tenants' Union in a press conference in front of the property.

The second attempt to evict Josep Torrent was to take place this Tuesday at 5:30 am after the first attempt was blocked last Friday morning after a thousand people gathered at the front of the building to prevent it from happening. 

After speaking with the resident in question, the judicial committee decided to postpone the eviction, citing concerns that it "could not be carried out safely."

Several voices have called for mediation from the building over, investment fund Lioness Inversiones, in this conflict, including the Barcelona Ombudsman and the city council.

Casa Orsola has become a symbol of Barcelona's housing crisis in recent years and has gathered much media attention. 

The building was purchased by investment fund Lioness Inversiones in 2021 and since then has stopped renewing leases of the residents in the building, favoring instead to convert the flats into short-term lets, which are exempt from any rent cap regulation. 

Josep Torrent was the first Casa Orsola resident due to be evicted. 

Torrent has lived in the building for 24 years and was the first of the five defendants to go to trial.

Sued by the investment fund that bought Casa Orsola in 2021 for staying in his flat beyond the termination of his lease, he faced eviction on January 31. 

The Tenants' Union has been organizing a "marathon" of actions since last week, culminating with a demonstration on Friday with the intention of preventing the eviction. 

Back in 2022, Catalan News published an episode of our podcast, Filling the Sink, taking a look at the story behind Casa Orsola.