Having your lease not renewed to create a coliving space: the future of a Gràcia resident in the hands of the courts

BarcelonaA Barcelona court will have the final say on the eviction of a tenant in the Gràcia neighborhood of Barcelona. The investment fund that owns the apartment has taken the case to court to force the eviction with the aim of converting the property into a colivingThis is number 14 on Sant Agustí street, where there are already four apartments that are colivingsSeveral files and fines have long since confirmed that The work to divide the apartments had been done illegally.

However, the affected tenant, Txema Escorsa, who has refused to leave his home after the contract expired, wants the courts to force an extension, arguing that it is a high-demand rental area and that he is in a vulnerable situation. In fact, the tenant argues that he has continued to pay his rent of 775 euros despite being reported to the authorities, and considers the contract still valid.

The New Amsterdam Developers (NAD) fund, which a court recently ruled is a large landlord, bought the property in December 2023 and has since refused to extend the rental contracts. With the former residents already out of the building, The apartments were divided into rooms that were offered for 840, 920 and 940 eurosThe price of a single apartment rose from 775 euros per month to 2,700 euros. Outside the City of Justice, Txema Escorsa recalled on Tuesday how he received the notice from the investment fund: "There were no negotiations. The eviction notice came directly."

More affected

NAD owns the entire building at number 14 Sant Agustí Street, which has a total of 11 apartments. Four of these apartments are already listed on the same blog. colivings and two others that are empty. Of the three tenants in the building affected by eviction proceedings, Escorsa's case is the first to reach the courts. It is also the only one in which a situation of vulnerability has not been recognized because he has not provided documentation to prove it. Nevertheless, he maintains that he has submitted more than a dozen documents to the court demonstrating that he is not "in the best financial situation."

The Tenants' Union, which represents the affected tenant, has stated that this case demonstrates the need for reform of the Urban Leases Law (LAU) "to end the fraud of short-term and room rentals," which will be voted on in February and will complement the regulations approved in December by the Catalan Parliament. "The Txema case is an example of the consequences of the rampant fraud that has taken hold in the room rental business. Like Txema, there are hundreds of thousands of tenants in Catalonia living in fear of what might happen when their contracts expire," the Union stated.

City Council Sanctions

In 2024, an inspection by the Barcelona City Council deemed illegal the works that allowed part of the building at Sant Agustí, 14 to be converted into a colivingDespite several investigations and sanctions against the property owner, the city council was unable to get NAD to regularize the situation, and the rooms have continued to be offered for rent. When NAD bought the building in December 2023, it sent a registered letter to all the residents informing them that it would not be renewing their rental contracts. The investment fund quickly divided the apartments into three-room units, which were then managed by Enter Coliving, a company specializing in short-term rentals. In a short time, the rent per room was more than three times what the previous tenants had been paying for the entire apartment. The residents reported the situation in January 2024, and the Barcelona Ombudsman also became involved. Finally, the City Council inspected the building and determined that at least two of the apartments had undergone unauthorized renovations. The council even ordered the demolition of the completed works and the restoration of the homes to their original state, and since NAD failed to comply, they received an initial fine of 500 euros. A second fine of another 500 euros was subsequently issued.