100 inspectors have been released for enforcing the rent cap, which has not been sanctioned after a year and a half.

BarcelonaNew steps to sanction landlords who violate housing laws. The Government and the Commons agreed this Tuesday to activate a force of 100 inspectors before the end of the year to enforce the law by imposing sanctions on landlords who violate the rent limits established by this law, approved two years ago in Congress. With this agreement, the Government completes one of its major housing tasks for this September, after the commitments to start with 65 inspectors before the summer and reach 100 throughout this year have not been met.

The regional minister and spokesperson, Sílvia Paneque, and the Secretary of Housing, Lídia Guillén, sealed the agreement this Tuesday at the Generalitat (Catalan Government) with the spokesperson for the Comuns (Electrons of Catalonia), David Cid, and the deputy spokesperson, Susanna Segovia. Hours later, the executive council approved this expansion of the agency, with a budget of 5.9 million euros from credit supplements.

Until now, the Generalitat (Catalan Government) could open proceedings through the Consumer Agency, and now the 100 officials at the Housing Agency will also be able to impose sanctions for breaches of the housing law. Thus, the Catalan government will be able to act in both directions. For the Comuns (Commons), who demanded a sanctioning regime and a corps of inspectors, only the third step is missing: a government campaign reminding tenants of their rights so they can exercise them.

Response to a breach

Specifically, this agreement dates back to May, when both parties agreed to create this body to enforce the sanctioning regime of the housing law throughout Catalonia, which provides for fines for those who violate rental regulations. In return, the Comuns (Communists) voted in favor of the first two credit supplements that the Catalan Parliament approved on May 7 and 21, worth €2.168 billion and €1.3 billion, respectively, allowing the Generalitat to increase spending despite having no budget. In June, a third supplement of €468 million was approved, also with the support of the Comuns (Communists) and ERC (Republican Left). On July 1, the Government had already incorporated 15 housing inspectors linked to the Catalan Consumer Agency of the 60 that had agreed with the Comuns. The rest, as Paneque explained, will be assigned to the Housing Agency.

The Commons welcomed the agreement, but warned that further progress on housing is needed to negotiate the budget. The parliamentary group had already stated that they would not negotiate next year's budget until the Catalan government launched this body. For the tenants' union, the measure is "necessary" but comes "too late," and they warn that "it will be ineffective if the decree regulating temporary and room rentals is not urgently approved." They also warned that the lack of oversight and inspectors has led to impunity so far.

It will not be activated until 2026

At the press conference following the Executive Council meeting, Paneque explained that they have authorized the expansion of the Catalan Housing Agency's staff by 100 people. "This 100-person increase is also complemented by 19 additional positions at the Catalan Consumer Agency, which must protect users in the housing sector in Catalonia," explained Paneque, who stated that it is essential and a priority for the Catalan government.

"Price controls have had the effect of halting rental prices and causing significant reductions. This means that we must have a corps of inspectors who can detect non-compliance with regulations and initiate any resulting proceedings," added Paneque. Despite being activated this year, the corps will not begin fully operational until January 2026.

What does inspection activity consist of?

The detection of violations has been one of the major gaps in the application of the state housing law: despite the price cap having been in effect for a year and a half, there are no records of sanctions applied by the Generalitat (Catalan Government) to any owner or agency, who must comply with a series of requirements stipulated in this regulation.

The Catalan Consumer Agency can intervene in three cases. On the one hand, when the minimum information regulated in Articles 59 and 61 of Law 18/2007, of December 28, on the right to housing, is included in advertising and rental offers. This includes the rental price resulting from applying the reference system for rental prices for housing or whether the owner is a large landowner.

Another case is when owners want to impose temporary rental contracts in order to circumvent the price cap when the purpose of the lease is established as permanent or habitual housing. And the third requirement for action is when you want to pass on the property management fees or the contract formalization fees to the tenant.

Until now, the Catalan Consumer Agency's inspection department of the Generalitat (Catalan Government) has been carrying out inspections of the obligations set forth in Decree Law 1/2025 on urgent measures to contain rents, both in physical establishments throughout the country—with a greater incidence in the Barcelona metropolitan area. As a result, it has opened 241 consumer cases linked to non-compliance with the rent cap and has received a total of 29 complaints, but has not issued any sanctions.