The Blackstone fund will not renew 400 social rental contracts it has in Catalonia to put the homes up for sale

BarcelonaThe investment fund Blackstone will not renew 400 social rental contracts it holds in Catalonia to put the homes up for sale, as reported by El matí de Catalunya Ràdio. The fund, as the same report indicates, ensures that it will prioritize that the buyers are the tenants who currently live in the properties. The purchase by the tenants could end up being effective in a hundred cases. The rest of the tenants, however, would not be interested or would not be able to afford it.

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. Being unable to assume the mortgage, the apartment remained in the hands of the bank, which ended up selling it to Blackstone, with whom Vilma signed a social rental agreement. Now, as she 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 North 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 amid the uproar over the case of Maricarmen, the 87-year-old woman who has just been evicted in Madrid. Furthermore, they are also framed in the midst of negotiations between Junts and the Spanish government to limit the purchase of housing by vulture funds. Specifically, the Junts members are requesting 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 for the new housing decree, which is expected to be presented on Tuesday at the council of ministers. "Junts has made proposals and I want to say today that our extended hand has always been here and that I believe it is important for this dialogue to take place," he said on Cadena SER.