Empty apartments, leaks, and conflicts: the challenge of managing public housing

BarcelonaThe president of the Generalitat (Catalan government), Salvador Illa, has promised to build 50,000 public housing units in Catalonia by 2030. But behind the large figures, some questions arise. One of them is whether the administration has the capacity to manage all this public housing stock. Over the last four months, ARA has visited around forty developments run by the Barcelona Municipal Institute for Housing and Renovation (IMHAB), totaling more than 2,800 apartments. This sample highlights some of the problems with this public housing offering: empty apartments and parking; headaches with the construction and maintenance of buildings; and difficulties in managing the common day-to-day conflicts of residents.

Historically, the management of these public housing units has not been a priority in Spain, because in many cases, over the years, the apartments lost their protected status and ended up on the open market. This is what will happen, for example, with 5,400 protected apartments in Bay of Vallés This year, however, public authorities have accepted that this type of housing must always maintain protected status. "That makes the management of public housing the great challenge," says architect and consultant Maria Sisternas, who points out that addressing this challenge will require "a different culture" and having maintenance teams at public developers.

By the end of 2024, the IMHAB managed nearly 13,000 apartments—5,500 of which have been added in the last ten years—and the number is projected to continue to increase exponentially. This volume is pushing the agency to its limits. Workers have been protesting for months about the conditions and lack of staff, which is also impacting the IMHAB's care for residents of the public housing complex. In the case of rental apartments—the vast majority, more than 9,900—the average price is €298 per month.

"Building more public housing is very good, but resources need to be allocated to management," summarizes Barcelona's grievance ombudsman, David Bondia. This institution channels much of the neighborhood discontent, to the point that the IMHAB (National Institute of Housing and Urban Development) addresses the majority of the complaints it handles annually. Improving the management of public housing is one of the ten demands the IMHAB makes to the City Council in its 2024 report. "Almost all of the complaints relate to difficulties in communicating with the IMHAB," Bondia notes. In his report, he maintains that the "lack of fluid communication" between residents and the City Council generates a public perception "of municipal opacity and neglect." He also argues that the fact that staffing levels are not growing at the same rate as the public housing stock makes it impossible to provide an adequate response.

Employee sources explain to ARA that only 58 new positions have been created at the IMHAB since 2017. In total, there are now 255 employees. They also report that the volume of work in the public parks area causes many employees to leave as soon as possible, which generates high turnover. This staffing shortage, they warn, impacts the response to and management of incoming incidents. The IMHAB manager, Gerard Capó, admits that this area is "stressed," but attributes this to the fact that they are currently handing over the keys to many new developments. He also acknowledges that they are not "sufficiently efficient" in responding to residents and that there is "room for improvement." Each year, they respond to more than 8,000 incidents, he emphasizes.

The City Council is currently working on the Public Park Management Master Plan, a tool that should resize the IMHAB to improve its service provision. According to Capó, this could entail more human, financial, and technological resources, or operational changes. All of this is intended to minimize the problems affecting residents of protected apartments.

ARA has unsuccessfully requested the IMHAB for months for a detailed list of the developments it manages, because its website only lists a few. Of the forty developments visited by this newspaper, more than half had issues. These are the main ones.

Empty apartments

Residents admit to being concerned. In early 2023, the IMHAB held a public lottery to allocate apartments in the newly constructed building on Palamós Street, in the Trinitat Nova neighborhood, and by the end of that same year, the first residents had already moved in. Since then, the remaining residents have been arriving in dribs and drabs, to the point that, two years after the lottery, only 27 of the 67 apartments in the block are occupied. The rest remain empty.

"We don't understand it. With the housing shortage we have!" says Daniel Agudo, president of the newly formed residents' association, who has filed a complaint with the Ombudsman because they don't consider it normal. There have already been three attempts to find jobs. Currently, the building has a 24-hour security guard, paid for by the IMHAB itself.

Surface rights

All the homes are surface rights. This means that the successful bidder acquires the apartment at a price well below market and for a period of 75 years. They will then have to return it to the City Council. Specifically, the apartments are selling for €150,000 to €180,000, according to residents, but only people with limited annual income are eligible.

"The problem is the down payment. You have to pay between €45,000 and €60,000 at once, and not everyone has that kind of money. I had to sell my car and spent all my savings," says Agudo, who affirms they are willing to have the IMHAB relax the requirements to help them. This neighborhood community's case is not unique. There are other blogs in the same situation.

"We have a thousand homes with surface rights and we've awarded them all. This means the system is working. Are there things that need to be improved? Absolutely, and one of the lines we need to work on is how we can look for financing systems," responds the manager of IMHAB, who insists that for them "having an empty home is... "It may happen that three awardees don't want a home. It's not a matter of calling them and that's it. You have to follow an administrative procedure, which unfortunately isn't very flexible in terms of management, but it provides a lot of guarantees," he argues to justify why the process is so long.

Ghost parking

Adrián Marín Julián says he first contacted the IMHAB to rent a space in the public parking lot at 6 Parcerisa Street in the Sants-Montjuïc district in January 2021. Since then, he's called and emailed repeatedly, even completing a formal application. But nothing. He hasn't received a response. "It makes me angry that there are public spaces and they're not being used. It's a contradiction," he laments. He currently parks on a vacant lot, but construction work is scheduled soon. "I know exactly which spaces are available because a neighbor told me. It makes me want to park without paying," he says.

The IMHAB has 4,045 parking spaces, 2,658 of which have been rented or sold as surface rights, and 1,384 are available. In other words, no one uses them. In fact, some buildings have real ghost parking lots. Completely empty.

"Parking legalization can take about five months […]. And marketing about four more months," argues the IMHAB manager. So why are there parking lots that have been empty for years? "We prioritize people in cars," he responds, implying that the most important thing for them is the allocation of apartments. He also states that, if there aren't enough residents interested in renting spaces, they prefer to keep the parking lot closed to "avoid misuse."

Construction Problems

Cooking odors from other apartments entering through the kitchen extractor fan, blinds that don't close properly, water leaks in the false ceiling of the storage rooms, windows hanging loose because the hinges are too small to support their weight... And the worst part: a heating and hot water system with completely rusted pipes. These are some of the deficiencies listed in the expert report to which ARA has had access and which the residents of the building located at Plaza Dolors Piera 6 and Plaza Isabel Vilà 2 have paid out of pocket, fed up with the constant problems in the apartment building. They want to open legal proceedings against the IMHAB and the construction company to remedy all the deficiencies. "We are outraged," says one resident. The building is new, built in 2020. All the apartments have surface rights.

There have also been water leaks in other new developments: in two buildings on Avenida Escolapi Càncer in the Torre Baró neighborhood, in another on Calle Ciudad de Granada in Sant Martí, in yet another on Calle Novelles in the Bon Pastor neighborhood... in the public park. The most serious cases are just two, he details: the building on Calle Doctor Aiguader, in Ciutat Vella, whose façade partially collapsed in 2021, a few years after its inauguration; and the development on Passeig de Mollerussa, in Bon Pastor, which has been under construction for five years and serious structural problems were detected. Regarding the rest of the incidents, he emphasizes that these are inconveniences that can occur in new buildings and that the construction companies themselves are responsible for resolving them because they are within the warranty period.

No heating or hot water

The building, located on Avenida Escolapi Càncer 10-12 in the Torre Baró neighborhood, is going to be presented as an example of sustainable architecture and high energy efficiency: it has an aerothermal heating system, a central patio with a support for folding doors and a thermal blanket that can be opened and stored to convert The space is a winter area in the winter and a shady area in the summer. The blog impresses when you enter. But the reality is that in winter it is colder in the building than outside. "Here you die of cold. And in summer you also die, but of heat," says a neighbor.

"The air-source heat pump system either doesn't work, or leaks water, or the neighbors don't know how to use it, or they don't turn it on because the cost is too high," summarizes another neighbor, Ángela Barriuso. The result is that, for example, a neighbor in a wheelchair heats her home with a small electric heater, despite living in a block that is theoretically revolutionary in terms of energy.

Heating and hot water are one of the recurring problems in the new IMHAB developments. Its manager acknowledges that the new systems they have installed "are complex and delicate to handle." "We are analyzing their operation to assess what to do in future developments." The problems have been detected both in blocks with air-source heat pump systems and in those that have been connected to the Ecoenergies and Districlima systems.

Cohabitation conflicts

Even when it comes to resolving disputes between neighbors, communication with the IMHAB is often slow, cumbersome, and sometimes impossible. This is evident in a block of flats in Barceloneta, at 15 Calle Salamanca, where neighbors have been engaged in a long-standing dispute with a restaurant on the ground floor over the smoke vent. According to their complaints, the establishment—a grill—doesn't have its own smoke vent and has taken over one of the building's. This causes the smell of cooking and even the smoke to permeate the apartments directly above. "I've had to put my bed in the dining room because I can't sleep in my bedroom. It's unbreathable," explains Ángela. The walls of the affected houses are discolored by smoke, and in some cases, the holes made in the walls by firefighters during some of the inspections conducted so far are clearly visible.

Although the premises are privately owned and therefore the inspections are carried out by the Ciutat Vella district, residents report having to persistently pursue the IMHAB (Institutional Housing Authority) for their defense. "It's frustrating," says Mercedes Juárez, who explains that communication with the agency is often frustrating. "Often, they don't even respond directly," she emphasizes, adding that when they do, it takes a very long time to respond. However, the IMHAB manager claims to be in constant communication with the Ciutat Vella district to follow up on this case.

The residents of this Barceloneta building criticize the fact that, beyond the conflict with the barbecue restaurant, the maintenance work carried out by the IMHAB is "practically nonexistent." A resident who prefers not to be named points to the cracked glass windows of the gallery: "I'm afraid they'll fall into the street and hurt someone." Two years ago, a small section of the concrete walkway connecting the apartments collapsed. Fortunately, without causing any injuries. To replace it, they installed a wooden structure that is still there. Despite the problems with smoke from the premises below, the fire extinguishers in the common areas attest to the lack of maintenance. The last recorded inspection was in June 2020. "One day we'll have a scare," laments Juárez.

The IMHAB emphasizes that they are constantly rehabilitating the public park, but that they prioritize "the most urgent actions." Specifically, in 2024, more than 12,000 maintenance projects were completed, representing an investment of over €8.4 million.