The Hamid case, the first fine issued by the Generalitat to a real estate company for racism

BarcelonaThe Catalan government has issued its first sanction for racism against a real estate agency for allegedly engaging in covert discriminatory practices against Hamid, a Moroccan tenant in the Mataró neighborhood. He and his family, which includes two minor children, have been looking for an apartment for four years, but despite having the necessary income, agencies stopped calling them or refused to show them properties. They filed 13 complaints with the Mataró City Council, which dismissed them all after two years. After a four-year bureaucratic labyrinth involving the Catalan Housing Agency and the Catalan Consumer Agency, a complaint from the Catalan Ombudsman referred their case to the Catalan Government's Office for Equal Treatment and Non-Discrimination (OITND), which ultimately imposed the sanction on the Mataró agency. Along the way, Hamid has been accused of coercion for attempting to reach an agreement to avoid initiating disciplinary proceedings. "We've encountered a lukewarm public administration, passing the buck; agencies that don't assume ethical and legal obligations and prefer to attack," explained Miguel Ruiz, the lawyer in the case and a housing and urban development specialist at the Desca Observatory, at a press conference this Monday. This ordeal has resulted in 9 of the 12 complaints expiring, and of the three remaining cases, the Generalitat (Catalan government) has issued this first fine of €10,001—the lowest within a range that can reach €40,000. Now that proceedings have been initiated, the real estate agency can decide whether to file an appeal and pursue the matter through the courts. However, the Desca Observatory considers the evidence "overwhelming."

"I'm happy, but the damage is already done. There are many people who suffer from this; I'm the one who gives them a voice and a face, but there are thousands of people suffering this every day," Hamid explained. Similarly, Laura Rodríguez, a member of SOS Racisme Catalunya, lamented that many people don't report these incidents because they are in a precarious situation.

The events of January 2024

Last September, the Catalan government's Office for Equal Treatment and Non-Discrimination opened the first administrative sanction proceedings for a case involving Hamid in January 2024. After unsuccessfully searching for an apartment, Hamid tried a different approach: he asked a coworker to inquire about the apartment he was supposed to rent. The real estate agency had told him it was "already rented" a day and a half after he had requested a viewing, Ruiz explained. However, the agency called Hamid's coworker immediately after he submitted the request, informed him that the apartment was still available, detailed the financial requirements for renting it, and scheduled a viewing. Hamid attended the viewing to get an explanation for the unfavorable treatment and asked if it was because the owners didn't want people of Moroccan origin. The real estate agency manager even admitted it: "That's also true, but it's not the issue. It's reserved," they told him.

The fine

The sanction imposed by the Generalitat (Catalan government) is a response to what the Equality Office considers a serious infraction based on territorial origin, race, or ethnicity. In addition to the €10,001 fine, the agency has also been banned from receiving public funding and contracting with the Generalitat administration for one year. "The case has been resolved through administrative channels, and the resolution recognizes the existence of damages, including moral damages, and the right of the affected person to claim compensation through legal channels," Generalitat sources explained to the newspaper ARA. Until now, only two sanctions by the Barcelona City Council were known.