Housing rights activists' ongoing struggle to reform social housing in Catalonia

Housing activists have long advocated for more public social housing as a remedy for the housing crisis which has led to Barcelona being dubbed Spain's eviction capital and average rents soaring 43% in 10 years across Catalonia. 

Some of the problems are historical, Lucía Delgado, a spokesperson for the PAH housing rights group, tells Catalan News.  

"Until just a few years ago, practically all social housing here was for buying and selling," she says.  

This is in contrast to most European countries with the focus for public housing has always been on the rental market. 

The result is that "if Barcelona hadn't sold all the social housing created in the city since the 1970s and 80s, right now 40% of the rental market would be social housing stock." 

Instead, "we're at 1.7%," she says, highlighting for her "how badly things have been done."   

A change in the law in Catalonia in 2019 shifted the focus of public housing to providing homes for rent, a change Lucía is proud of.   

"What we managed to achieve from 2019, is that the flats in public developments can't be sold," she says, although she points out that social housing projects from private developers – built on publicly owned land – can be sold, albeit at a fixed price.   

Demand outstrips supply  

Eligible vulnerable and low-income families can apply for social housing, the process isn't difficult, according to Lucía. The problem is that demand far outstrips supply, with properties assigned by drawing lots. 

"There are waiting lists, thousands of requests, but there isn't any social housing," she says. 

"Before the pandemic, there were 36,000 people in Catalonia who had requested social housing. Today 1.5% of properties for rent in Catalonia are public housing stock. The figures tell you everything. There is a lot of demand and there is little supply." 

She refers again to the historic policy of building social housing to be sold. "It's not that they haven't built much, they've built, but they've privatized." 

Government building 637 social homes in Barcelona 

Both the Catalan government and Barcelona City Council insist that housing is one of their top priorities. 

Indeed, the government is to build 637 social homes in Barcelona on 11 plots of land ceded by the council, it was announced on October 20 after a meeting of the two institutions' joint committee. 

A second phase will lead to a minimum total of 1,700 new homes, "a substantial jump," according to presidency minister Laura Vilagrà, which offers "a concrete, tangible and rapid solution to the problem of access to housing." 

Phase one will take a maximum of five years, with an estimated cost of €80 million. The first new builds will be in the 22@ neighborhood in the Sant Martí district and in Marina del Prat Vermell in Sants-Montjuïc. 

Barcelona mayor Jaume Collboni said he was in favor of supporting "everything that facilitates the immediate application of the rent cap law" that can relieve the ongoing "crazy escalation," of prices. 

Financial asset 

Building new properties is just one way of increasing the amount of social housing. Both the Catalan government and Barcelona City Council are also purchasing already existing properties and, in some cases, acquiring them for free. 

Catalan officials have continually called on Spain to release more properties owned by Sareb, Spain's so-called bad bank set up in 2012 after the 2008 financial crash. 

According to Catalan territory minister, Ester Capella, the Spanish government view is that the flats owned by Sareb are "a financial asset" whereas the Catalan executive views them as "housing for families." 

Bold measures 

Lucía Delgado sees three courses of action that need to be taken in order to address the lack of social housing in Catalonia.  

The first is the implementation and expansion of the 2019 legislation, where "social homes are built for rent, so as to not lose public housing."  

"Two, put forward bold measures," she says, citing for example, "that in private developments, 30% of the building is given over to accessible housing, a measure currently in place in Barcelona but that could be extended throughout Catalonia." 

The third is "a long-standing demand" of the PAH housing right group. 

"There are homes," Lucía says. "The problem is that they are in private hands, especially in the hands of vulture funds." 

Empty properties should be made available for public housing she argues. 

"There are a load of homes that are shut, waiting for the next bubble, with anti-squatter doors and alarms. We've already bailed out the banks with public money. We're not expecting that money back but in return, we'd like them to hand over these flats to the public housing stock."  

Actions and attitudes 

Lucía agrees that authorities seem to be taking the housing crisis more seriously than in the past. 

"It seems like there is willingness there, but in the end what we need are actions. There are more than 9,000 evictions in Catalonia and what we need are measures to prevent them. Right now, we have housing rights laws that could prevent these evictions and we need politicians, the Catalan government, to sanction those who want to bypass Catalan laws." 

To bring Catalonia in line with the EU average, where 18% of the rental market is social housing, the PAH spokesperson says a change of attitude is required. 

"Until housing is considered a right, and while it's considered for many a commodity for speculation, to do business, it will be very difficult to make very profound changes."