Residents affected by 'coliving' denounce the "fraudulent" room listings from the fund that does not renew them.

The Rental Companies Union and the Socialist Housing Union of Catalonia have filed a complaint with the Catalan Consumer Agency (ACC) and the Catalan Housing Agency (AHC) against two real estate agencies for publishing 44 "fraudulent" room rental advertisements. According to the complaint, the advertisements failed to provide information on the previous rental agreement or the landlord's status as a large property owner in areas with a tight market. The obligation to provide this information has been in effect since February 2025, when the Catalan Parliament approved the decree-law that became law last December to regulate seasonal and room rentals. Thus, for the past two months, these obligations—to provide information on the reference index, the price of the previous contract, and the landlord's status as a large property owner in areas with a tight market—have also been extended to room and temporary rental contracts, as stated in the complaint. The challenge of inspection

"We filed these lawsuits so that the inspectors' office can proactively investigate the contracts. The advertisements state that the apartments are for recreational and leisure use, but we see that they are occupied by workers and students, and therefore the price cap should be enforced," explained Enric Aragonès, spokesperson for the Union. The union called a press conference in front of the building located at 60 Buenos Aires Street, where the headquarters of one of these real estate funds—New Amsterdam Developers (NAD)—is located. Minutes earlier, they had delivered these lawsuits to the fund. Txema, accompanied by other residents whose leases have not been renewed by this company, which has converted their apartments into rooms for rent, was responsible for delivering the lawsuits. "We are asking them to comply with the law, to withdraw the lawsuits against us—he himself has an eviction date at the end of March—and we are filing the lawsuit," he explained to the media, speaking from a makeshift table in front of the blog. Their case came to light more than a year ago: several neighbors saw their contracts not being renewed because of coliving.

The lawsuit alleges that the investment fund New Amsterdam Developers (NAD) controls a dozen properties in the city through several companies. The company's directors are Jeffrey Todd and Paul Christiaan, as well as its two sole shareholders. "Each of these subsidiaries corresponds to a different building," the lawsuit states, asserting that this corporate fragmentation allows them to masquerade as small landlords. Of the more than 40 listings submitted, 16 belong to Live It, the brand name of Smart Rental Group; 13 are from New Nomads, a subsidiary of NAD; and 15 are from Enter Coliving, which was previously linked to NAD. Fining landlords who violate housing laws was a condition set by the Comuns party for negotiating the budget—they have now given their full support—and the government, according to the latest available data, has already opened thirteen sanctioning proceedings: seven by the Catalan Consumer Agency and six by the Housing Agency. This first round of sanctions comes just over a year after the housing law's penalty system was approved.