Blackstone says now that it will review case by case the social rental contracts that it has in Catalonia

BarcelonaThe investment fund Blackstone —through its subsidiary Anticipa— has committed to negotiating the social leases it holds in Catalonia on a case-by-case basis. After El matí de Catalunya Ràdio reported this Friday that the company did not intend to renew the 400 contracts of this type it has in the country in order to put the homes up for sale, the fund now says it does not rule out maintaining some social leases. However, the company maintains that once the contracts expire, they will continue offering tenants the possibility of buying the apartments where they live. As of now, about a hundred of them have agreed to the proposal. The remaining cases, however, are being reviewed.

As explained by Catalunya Ràdio, initially, company sources had indicated that these 400 contracts would not be renewed and would be put up for sale in the event that the tenants refused to purchase them.

Vilma, a resident of L'Hospitalet de Llobregat, explained on the same radio program that the fund has offered them to buy the apartment at "market price." "It is unfair because we have already paid many years of mortgage and rent and we have spent all our savings," she explained. Vilma bought the home where she lives before the 2008 crisis broke out. Unable to afford the mortgage, the apartment ended up in the hands of the bank, which eventually sold it to Blackstone, with whom Vilma signed a social lease. Now, according to what she has explained, they are offering her to buy the apartment for 227,000 euros.

Blackstone is one of the main investment banks on a global scale. The American fund is a giant not only in the real estate sector but also in infrastructure or venture capital.

Possible limits on vulture funds

The news of the sale of homes by the fund that until now were intended for social rent comes amidst the uproar over the case of Maricarmen, the 87-year-old woman who has just been evicted in Madrid.Furthermore, they are also framed within full negotiations between Junts and the Spanish government to limit the purchase of homes by vulture funds. Specifically, the Junts members are calling for an anti-eviction measure that distinguishes between small and large property owners and a 15% income tax deduction for the rental or purchase of a primary residence.

The Minister of Culture and leader of Sumar, Ernest Urtasun, stated this Friday that he sees "room for agreement" in the negotiation between the Spanish government and Junts regarding the new housing decree, which is expected to be presented on Tuesday to the Council of Ministers. "Junts has made proposals and I want to say today that our helping hand has always been here and that I believe it is important for this dialogue to take place," he said on Cadena SER.