Trapped at a new construction site in Carmel: "We've been without electricity for two months"

BarcelonaAina and Armand get up every morning and make their coffee on a camping stove. Beforehand, they make a quick trip to the bathroom and catch a glimpse of their reflection in the dim light of a portable streetlamp. Hours later, when they return to work, the scene repeats itself: flashlight up, headlamp down. And at night, they usually have dinner at relatives' houses because their newly built apartment in Carmel has no electricity outside of construction hours. A noisy generator artificially powers the building from nine in the morning until five in the afternoon. "After that, nothing," says Aina. All this until the weekend arrives, when it's completely dark.

Their case is not an exception in the building. Of the 16 apartments in this new development, none yet have the basic utilities to live comfortably. There's water all day, but it's also temporary. Several couples have told this newspaper about a similar experience: they've received the keys to an apartment that isn't finished. And they've all gone through the same ordeal: months-long construction delays, trouble contacting the real estate agency after signing the preliminary sales agreement, and several appointments at the notary's office to sign a purchase agreement that couldn't go through.

The developer in question is Bernat Bransi – created ad hoc for this construction project—but behind it is I-Now, which describes itself as a manager of new construction developments in Barcelona and the metropolitan area. However, the I-Now domain and website are operated by a company called Gerber Studio, and the sole administrator of this company, as listed in the commercial registry, is Ramon Triquell Monfort, the person who appears on the day of the final signing. Currently, he is the sole administrator of about twenty companies, holds positions in another twenty, and is listed as a former director or administrator of almost fifty companies, most of which are now defunct.

Burofaxes, appointments and haste

Aina and Armand paid 20% of the price of their apartment in September 2024. The contract stipulated that the developer had until June 2025 to obtain the certificate of completion and until September to hand over the keys. But a few months later, appointments began to be scheduled to sign the deed, even though construction wasn't finished and there was neither an occupancy permit nor permanent utilities. "They told us that moving in or not was a personal decision," she recounts.

Other residents share the same feeling of being trapped. Marc and his partner, Chiara, made a pre-reservation in the summer of 2024 after visiting the development, which was then well under construction. They were assured that the apartments would be ready in December. However, starting in September, the delays began. In January, the developer made them sign a private adhesion contract: "Either you accepted the clauses or you lost your money," Marc explains. The document imposed strict deadlines on the buyers but didn't include any clear penalties for the developer. Throughout the process, they all received several summonses to sign before a notary, even though the legal conditions for the bank to grant the mortgage weren't met. Each missed appointment was accompanied by registered letters warning that if they didn't appear, they could lose their deposit. To protect themselves, they either put in writing that they couldn't sign anything and didn't go, or they went and drew up notarial deeds stating that they couldn't sign because there was no registered certificate of completion or occupancy permit. "I signed crying."

“We would go, file a complaint, argue that we couldn’t sign, and pay up to 170 euros for the notarized statement,” Aina explains to ARA. “They summoned us even though they knew they couldn’t sell and we couldn’t sign,” Marc tells this newspaper. “We signed the reservation agreement and then paid 20% of the apartment in January. That’s where the problems started. A month after signing the contract, they told us to sign another, more official one, which stated that once they had the certificate of completion, we would have 10 days to sign. But the bank warned us that this wasn’t normal,” he recounts. Finally, they finalized the purchase, but today they still don’t have permanent electricity or water connections and are experiencing problems inside the apartment, such as dampness and cracks. They haven’t moved in yet.

The residents explain that they tried to document the pending works in the deed or in a supplementary notarized contract, but the developer refused. "They told us they would only comply with the law, but they didn't want to put anything in writing," says Marc. On the day of signing, they claim, the developer's representative arrived hours late, a practice that, according to several witnesses, created a climate of pressure to force them to sign for fear of losing 20% of the apartment. "One of the worst experiences of my life. He knew nothing about what we were telling him. I signed crying," says Aina. Now, with the keys in hand, but without basic services, the concern is what will happen if the developer goes bankrupt before finishing the pending works or regularizing the utilities. "We signed because we had no alternative," says Aina. "But living in a new apartment without electricity shouldn't be normal," she adds. What does the utility company say?

The company, which this newspaper contacted for comment, explained that the building's construction was completed in June 2025. "From that moment on, the development has all the required documentation [certificate of completion (CFO), technical certificates, occupancy permits, September installation reports, etc.], and 2025, in accordance with the purchase agreements (CFO + 10 business days for signing the deed)," the company stated in a press release. However, the documentation reviewed by this newspaper indicates that the occupancy permit for some of the apartments was valid until September 2025, and that the problem was that the CFO was not yet registered, which is what prevented the buyers from signing.

I-Now also explains to this newspaper that what may remain pending in some cases are review and correction work of specific incidents (for example, local dampness or finishing details), typical of any new building in its first year of life. Regarding the electricity supply, the company states that, according to the schedule communicated by its subcontractor, Elecnor, the final commissioning of the electricity supply is scheduled for December 22nd and 23rd, 2025. "The accumulated delays are therefore due to internal administrative delays at E-Distribución, beyond the developer's control, and this extension incurs costs.

"It is true that the initial construction company became insolvent, abandoning the project in September 2024, a fact completely beyond the developer's control," the statement says, and assures that all residents' concerns are being addressed. They state that they do not agree with the obstacles placed in the way of customers receiving written information. Regarding the writing of revisions, the promoter said that the most guaranteeing formula for the buyer is not to add particular clauses about each detail, but rather that the work is subject entirely to the technical project and the license granted by the licensed professional.