The College of Architects warns that Catalonia should build 10,000 more homes each year
Construction grows in Catalonia, but the construction and renovation of apartments stalls
BarcelonaNew construction is growing in Catalonia, but not to provide housing. In the first six months of the year, the College of Architects of Catalonia (Coac) has issued permits to build or extensively renovate 2.41 million square meters in Catalonia, a 13.46% increase compared to the same period last year. However, although housing is what the ongoing constructions will be predominantly for (almost 1.6 million m2, 66% of the total), the increase in actions has been concentrated in other uses – which have grown by 54.24% compared to 2025 – while it has stagnated for housing – an area where it has increased by 0.54%–. In fact, architects have approved 2.59% fewer new construction and renovation homes, down to 7,897: that is, Catalonia is making fewer apartments available than a year ago, but, on the one hand, they are larger, and, on the other hand, renovations are keeping the surface area with ongoing actions for housing stable.
Coac visas are a mandatory technical certificate for individuals to apply for building permits from city councils, required for both new construction and integral renovations. They validate projects for immediate execution, allowing the data to analyze the current sector's behavior.
The general director of the College, Sònia Oliveras, opined that the data show the "good capacity" of the construction sector, but criticized that, in housing, Catalonia is not doing its homework: "It does not align with the increase in housing that we need as a country", has warned. Architects predict that this year Catalonia will incorporate about 15,000 new homes, in line with last year, but far from the 25,000 units that, according to experts, are necessary to respond to the needs of the population in the current housing crisis that the country is experiencing.
By territories, where new housing construction falls the most is in Barcelona city (39.62%), followed by Terres de l'Ebre, with a decrease of 31.94%, and Camp de Tarragona, with 20.05%. Production rises by 7.16% in the rest of the Barcelona demarcation, by 5.28% in the central regions, by 1.01% in the Lleida demarcation, and by 0.66% in the Girona regions. In absolute terms, in the Barcelona demarcation, 4,771 homes are underway – 503 of which in the capital – 1,517 in Girona, 602 in Camp de Tarragona, 518 in the central regions, 391 in Lleida, and 98 in Terres de l'Ebre.
Rehabilitation and HPO
In parallel, the dean of the Coac, Sandra Bestraten, has also expressed concern about the pace of renovation of apartments and houses. She assured that "the situation is critical" because the housing stock "is aging", a drawback with energy and climate implications; safety, and adaptation to the increase in life expectancy.
Official protection housing (HPO) accounts for 5.9% of the total permits, a total of 468. However, Oliveras has underlined that the Coac's data does not reflect the global production of HPO in Catalonia, because the public sector does not need to obtain these certificates. The bulk of permits for HPO is concentrated in the demarcation of Barcelona: 408 are located in the demarcation of Barcelona excluding the capital; 51 in the city of Barcelona and, the remaining 9, in other parts of Catalonia: 7 in Lleida and 2 in Girona. In Barcelona as a whole, HPO in progress represent 9.62% of newly created housing – which includes both new construction and extensive renovations – and 10.14% in the capital.
Public policies
In this context, Bestraten has considered that the 30% reserve that private developers must allocate to HPO in Barcelona is "a limitation" for new projects. While emphasizing that, from the College, they are "totally in favor" of the measure, the dean has requested an evaluation of the initiative to incorporate "some small nuance" and make it "more effective".
Regarding the Government's plan to simplify the obtaining of urban planning licenses, which contemplates greater involvement and responsibility from private technicians and colleges, Bestraten has said that they are studying the substance of the proposal, but that, initially, they see it as positive to address the slowness of procedures. She has warned that Catalonia cannot "wait" for the reform to be implemented and has asked to "activate in parallel and immediately other measures", including creating a pool of architects to support municipal administrations and formalizing a new National Housing Pact.