Nine Barcelona families secure affordable rents after two-year fight against eviction

Nine families from two buildings in Barcelona who banded together to prevent the new owner from evicting them have secured affordable rental contracts that will allow them to "stay at home" for the next seven years.

The struggle of these families, from the neighborhoods of Sants-Montjuïc and Ciutat Vella, began two years ago when the investment fund Second Home purchased the buildings and informed the tenants of its intention not to renew their leases.

Faced with the fund's plan to renovate the properties for resale, the residents organized and spent two years organizing campaigns to denounce what they saw as an attempt to evict them.

Among the disruptive tactics used by the owner, the affected tenants reported rent increases, construction in common areas, and other disturbances that they described as abuses and irregularities.

However, after two years of resistance, the fund has agreed to renew their leases at affordable rates, including a social rent contract.

At a press conference on Monday outside one of the buildings, the residents celebrated the "positive" agreement, stressing that it was made possible by their "collective struggle".

"Far from dividing us, this process has helped us become stronger communities," said one of the affected tenants.

The Tenants' Union spokesperson Enric Aragonpes said that "by organizing and fighting, it's possible to win," and called on other tenants in similar situations to contact the union for help.

To learn more about Barcelona's housing crisis, listen to this episode of our podcast Filling the Sink.