The divide between the two Barcelonas caused by the housing crisis is becoming increasingly profound, accelerating the gentrification of some neighborhoods and the depopulation of others. This is confirmed by the latest report from the Federation of Neighborhood Associations of Barcelona (FAVB), entitled SOS HousingThe study, which found that in 2024 there were more than 600 large speculative housing developments underway in the Catalan capital, affecting more than 11,800 homes, mostly involved families forced to leave their homes due to the expiration of their rental contracts. These developments are part of "the typical operation of buying an entire building, evicting the residents, and renovating to sell at luxury prices," spokespeople stated. The study combines official data (from the Catalan Housing Agency, the Barcelona City Council, and the Barcelona Metropolitan Area) with fieldwork conducted with neighborhood associations. The spokesperson for the FAVB Housing Commission, Jaume Artigues, explained that between the first and second halves of last year, speculative housing developments increased from 477 to 619. Of these, the vast majority (568 transactions) were intended for sale: 30% after new construction and 70% subsequently. In total, according to the report, between 2016 and 2024, approximately 75,000 rental contracts expired without renewal, affecting some 180,000 residents.

It was a commitment made by Salvador Isla's government, agreed upon with the Comuneros (Commons). And this weekend it came into effect: the property transfer tax (ITPi AJD), which taxes second-hand property and real estate transactions, increases for properties over €600,000 and doubles, up to 20%, for purchases of buildings and from large owners, such as funds or large real estate companies. The Catalan law defines large owners as those with more than 10 properties or a built-up area of more than 1,500 square meters, but it is reduced for more than five properties in areas declared under pressure by the Generalitat (Catalan government), that is, where prices are regulated. There are 271 municipalities in Catalonia with this regulation, including Barcelona. These increases were included in a decree from last March, ratified in May, and which was scheduled to come into effect within three months, that is, as of last Friday, June 27.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez kicked off the year by announcing a plan to mobilize affordable rentals across the country and reverse the difficulties faced by many citizens, especially young people and migrants, in accessing housing. Five months later, and amid social pressure with demonstrations for the right to housing in the country's main cities, some of the measures were put into writing through a bill that the PSOE (Spanish Socialist Workers' Party) filed in the Congress of Deputies. Specifically, in the text presented this Thursday, the Socialists incorporate many of the fiscal measures from the plan announced by Sánchez.