Collboni agrees to mediation with the residents of Vallcarca to save their budgets.

BarcelonaJaume Collboni saved the first goal this Thursday match ball of the 2026 budget. To prevent the budget from derailing the first curve, the municipal government this morning accepted Barcelona en Comú's request to open mediation with the Vallcarca residents threatened with eviction. The dialogue space, which will be led by the Barcelona Ombudsman, David Bondia, will not stop evictions, but will seek to find residential alternatives in cases where there is economic and social vulnerability, or families with minors in their care. Linked to the votes of the Comú and with the endorsement already announced this Wednesday by ERC, the budget and tax ordinances passed their initial approval this afternoon.

Despite the request for collaboration by the fourth deputy mayor, Jordi Valls, negotiations are now underway that do not look easy. This Thursday, the Comú councilor, Marc Serra, already warned that in order to vote in favor of the budget, they will also put other conditions on the table. Among them, doubling the planned investment in housing in terms of new construction and pre-emption, raising the property tax (IBI) for large holders - and lowering it for the rest - or specifying measures that pursue the "decrease in tourism" and not just "alleviate its effects." ERC spokesperson Jordi Castellana also warned that agreements will have to be finalized to consolidate their positive vote on the accounts. Together, the PP and Vox voted against the processing of a budget for "continuity."

The vote in committee came after negotiations between the PSC and the Comunes broke loose this morning with an agreement on Vallcarca and the regulation of seasonal rentals. In separate statements to reporters, the first deputy mayor, Laia Bonet, and the leader of Barcelona en Común in the council, Janet Sanz, explained that the mediation aims to find residential alternatives for those affected by the crisis. urban planning of Vallcarca.

In fact, the agreement signed between both groups establishes that this mediation space will have to share the legal status of the ex officio recovery files for the affected properties. Among the functions of the dialogue space led by Bondia will also be to evaluate the situation of the different family units living in the buildings awaiting eviction and to seek housing alternatives for vulnerable groups. The pact also includes the creation of a working group to study a hypothetical modification of Vallcarca's urban planning that would involve these evictions.

Last July, the first step was taken toward the eviction of two apartment blocks and a warehouse owned by Barcelona City Council. The council considers them to be substandard housing and which are occupied by around 40 families with 13 minors in their care. Then, judicial officials verified that there were people inside the blogs and that they did not want to leave voluntarily—there was a large demonstration at the door against the evictions—the first step before the judge orders the eviction. Despite the agreement for mediation, this process is still ongoing.

Limitation on seasonal rentals

The agreement between the PSC (Spanish Socialist Workers' Party) and Barcelona en Comú (Barcelona en Comú) to process the budget also includes the municipal government's commitment to bring the regulation of seasonal rentals to the plenary session in the coming months. This pact was signed by both groups in December of last year, but has not yet reached the plenary session. It consisted of promoting a modification to the Metropolitan General Plan (PGM) to establish that the habitual and permanent use of housing is the "priority" in the city and above temporary use; an umbrella to limit seasonal rentals at the municipal level. However, Bonet emphasized that the Parliament and the State are also working on regulations to restrict this type of supply, which will further strengthen Barcelona's path.

The agreement signed this Thursday, however, is not a definitive endorsement of the budgets and tax ordinances, but only allows them to begin processing. "We still have a long way to go, and we have time to continue talking about the budget and ordinances. Obviously, we have more to say," Sanz said. From the municipal government, Bonet applauded the Commons' "change of position" and welcomed the fact that the budgets can continue their processing.

ERC's yes

This Wednesday, Collboni also secured the votes of the ERC group at City Hall. The fourth deputy mayor, Jordi Valls, announced that they had accepted the Republicans' requests. Among them were the creation of a €10 million compensation fund for the neighborhoods most affected by tourism, an increase of more than 30% of the housing budget, and an increase in the allocation for Catalan to €7 million.

Until now, Collboni has never managed to pass a budget through ordinary channels. The first year, he had to resort to a vote of confidence, and the second, he opted for an extension. Now he has the opportunity to reach an agreement in the plenary session, although the municipal executive has already warned that if it does not obtain one, it will again use the vote of confidence mechanism for approval. For 2026, the city council expects record-breaking budgets, exceeding €4 billion for the first time, focused on "people, housing, and security," according to the executive.