Barcelona City Council, led by Jaume Collboni, has stepped up the application of municipal regulations requiring 30% of new constructions and major renovations to be used for social housing. The first deputy mayor, Laia Bonet, denied rumours about a possible waiver of fines and stated that pending cases, already identified on nine occasions, will continue to be sanctioned, with fines that could even exceed half a million euros.
The regulations, in force since 2018, remain controversial: while the council defends them as essential to guarantee access to housing in high-demand areas such as the Eixample, property developers maintain that they hinder investment and urban development. In December 2022, with Ada Colau still the mayor of the city, proceedings were initiated against three developments in the Eixample that did not comply with this mandatory reserve, demonstrating the City Council’s firm determination not to tolerate evasions, such as the splitting up of projects.
Furthermore, the Associació de Promotors de Catalunya (APCE), through its vice president Elena Massot, has proposed creating separate entrances in mixed buildings to separate free market and social housing, a measure that, according to its representatives, would facilitate the sale of market units, while at the same time reducing community expenses for families in social housing. However, this proposal has been described as classist by advocates of social integration. Carme Arcarazo, spokesperson for the Tenants’ Union of Catalonia, has not hesitated to warn that the measure could promote socioeconomic segregation in what would be a kind of apartheid.
In summary, the municipal administration reaffirms its firm commitment to enforcing affordable housing regulations, facing criticism from the real estate sector and proposals that could weaken social cohesion, while the latter raises doubts regarding the commercial viability of certain policies and their acceptance in the market.
