Evicted from an unhealthy attic just as it is finally being renovated: "It has caused me chronic health problems"

BarcelonaIn Barcelona, ​​it's possible to live in a rented apartment with extremely unsanitary conditions. It's also possible to live there knowing the building manager is aware of the situation, that a city inspector has visited the apartment, and that an architect has even certified "a dramatic situation of dampness" that can cause rhinitis, bronchitis, and even pneumonia. These are, in fact, the respiratory ailments that Felicia, the tenant, has suffered every winter for the past five years. And it's also possible that now, just as the mandatory renovations are underway to bring the apartment up to standard, the landlord has decided not to renew her contract. Against her will, this resident will be leaving this penthouse in the Born district in a few days.

At number 9 Canvis Nous Street, very close to the Basilica of Santa Maria del Mar, a narrow, uneven staircase leads to a bright penthouse with a terrace. The building is old and needs renovations that are barely being carried out. “I’ve continued living here because it’s impossible to find anything else,” Felicia explained to ARA, quickly denouncing what she called speculative motives: “And now that I’m leaving, they’re carrying out the necessary renovations. I’m being forced to leave my home just when they have no other option but to renovate, depriving me of my right to enjoy my home.” The rent was €650 a month when she moved in in 2021, and now she pays more than €700, an increase permitted by law due to the landlord’s right to pass on the Consumer Price Index (CPI) to the rent annually. The apartment’s conditions are extreme because it consists of only a 15 cm wall with no rooms or insulation. But that’s not all: in the upper part of the attic, in a loft where her bed is, the walls are only 4 cm thick. This has resulted in pieces of wall falling onto her mattress during the construction work. But the real problem, according to an architectural report, is that the building's complete lack of insulation causes water vapor in the air to condense and adhere to the interior walls due to the temperature difference with the outside.

All of this is visible at a glance. Felicia's attic walls are covered in mold, which she cleans herself with bleach, and part of the parquet flooring is completely worn down by leaks from the roof every time it rains. She shows videos of moldy walls, videos of pieces of wall in her hand from the construction work being done outside, and also how she exhales condensation on a typical winter day from inside her home. "The other day, my kitchen cabinet fell off. It came loose from the wall because of the dampness," she explains.

Chronic rhinitis and pneumonia

All of this has caused Felicia respiratory problems, forcing her to take more than ten sick leaves in recent years, as ARA has confirmed. "I have developed well-documented chronic health problems, including migraines, sinus infections, lung infections, and pneumonia," she says in a letter she recently sent to the Landlords' Union. In winter, she can't sleep in her bed and has to go down to the sofa and put her pillow on a heater, trying to get through the night as best she can. "Every morning I wake up with puffy eyes," she says. When she complained to the landlord or real estate agency, explaining that she couldn't heat the apartment due to condensation problems, they told her to open the windows, she says. They also told her to clean the mold off the walls herself, which she often does to avoid further health complications. This newspaper has tried to contact Judith Strub, the administrator who manages this apartment, but has not received a response.

All of this has cost her a lot of money. From the sofa, completely stained with condensation time and time again. She explains to ARA that she's had to replace it once, as well as the bed, because water seeps in. "I've also lost a lot of clothes. In total, I've probably lost more than 2,000 euros," she says. The contract she signed with the landlord is from 2021, just one year before the occupancy permit for the penthouse expired. Issued in 2007 for a 15-year term, the permit would not be granted under any circumstances given the conditions in which Felicia has lived in the penthouse, as certified by architects.