Mice and leaks in newly built protected apartments in Sant Andreu

BarcelonaSometimes the transition from hope to disillusionment is very quick. The residents of the eight subsidized housing units owned by the Barcelona City Council in a building on Puerto Príncipe Street, in the Congrés neighborhood of the Sant Andreu district, can attest to this. Just over six months ago, they moved into these affordable rental apartments, full of enthusiasm, but in little more than six months, they have become a constant source of headaches. Despite the building being completely renovated, problems with "serious deficiencies" are recurring, and the residents complain of a lack of response from both the developer and the city council.

Isaura Roura, one of the affected residents, confirms this in a conversation with ARA. She quickly lists problems ranging from leaking ceilings and damp walls to extreme temperatures in both summer and winter due to malfunctioning air conditioning. There is a hole in the ceiling, swollen from the dampness, around the heat pump unit, which is causing problems. She has it covered with a plastic bag to prevent the mice that run through the building from getting back into her home. "It's true that we're lucky to be able to live in an affordable rental apartment, but this is unacceptable," she complains.

The case of these eight apartments managed by the Barcelona Municipal Institute of Housing and Rehabilitation (IMHAB) on Puerto Príncipe Street is particular because it involvesthe first homes that the City Council bought through the reservation of 30% of protected housingAs it was a major renovation of an entire building, the developer Aelca had to reserve eight of the twenty-seven apartments for affordable rent. These were acquired by the city council and are managed directly by IMHAB (the Barcelona Housing Institute). Residents complain that this has ended up causing them more headaches, as they claim that the city council and the local authorities often pass the buck when it comes to resolving issues. One example of this is the problems with the apartment's climate control. Although they were assured that the apartments were energy efficient, the reality the residents encountered is completely different. Unlike the rest of the apartments in the building, the social housing units—where ten minors live—lacked air conditioning. Roura explains that this, combined with the building's large windows without blinds, meant that the temperature inside the apartments reached 37 degrees Celsius on many summer days.

In one of the first residents' meetings, the owners agreed to install awnings for sun protection. This was done with the support of the City Council representative—who is formally the owner of the eight subsidized apartments—but the tenants complain that they weren't informed. "When we found out, we wrote to them and they told us that if we wanted awnings, we'd have to pay between 500 and 700 euros for installation," explains Roura. Finally, IMHAB has now committed to covering the installation costs. The situation doesn't improve much in winter either, as some apartments have faulty heat pumps and suffer from hot water problems, or they have to use systems that significantly increase electricity consumption—a common problem in many of the new apartments managed by IHABB. There are also apartments where the heating doesn't work or only works partially. In Roura's case, she also has to deal with the dampness and leaks caused in early August by defects in the plumbing in the apartment above hers. Four months after reporting it, no one has come to fix it. In another common complaint from residents of IMHAB apartments, neighbors report difficulties communicating with the Institut.

All of this stems from a renovation that, the residents lament, leaves much to be desired. Broken or unfinished baseboards, chipped windows, leaking plumbing, and parking spaces and storage rooms unusable due to construction errors are just some of the "serious deficiencies" they list. Added to this are poor sound insulation and noise problems caused by a dance academy in the neighboring building, which led one of the residents who had been assigned an apartment to decline it. It remains empty to this day.

Warning from the Ombudsman's Office

Tired of the lack of response from IMHAB and Aelca, the residents took all their complaints to the Catalan Ombudsman's Office (Sindicatura de Greuges), which has requested information from the City Council three times since August without receiving any reply. Therefore, this January, the Ombudsman's Office issued a resolution stating that the lack of an "effective solution" to the problems reported by the residents of the building on Puerto Príncipe Street is "absolutely unacceptable and incompatible with the minimum habitability standards required of any public administration." For this reason, it urges IMHAB to carry out a "comprehensive, centralized, and exhaustive" evaluation of all the reported problems, including construction, energy, and heating system deficiencies, and to provide the affected residents with a specific timeline for action. The Barcelona en Comú group will also bring a motion to the Urban Planning Committee this Tuesday, urging the City Council to establish a timeline for resolving all the deficiencies.

The IMHAB defends itself

Municipal sources consulted by ARA defend the IMHAB (Municipal Housing Institute of Barcelona), stating that it is a privately developed project and that "the warranty and after-sales service for these homes must be managed through the developer." They emphasize that whenever the municipal institute becomes aware of a problem reported by residents, it informs the developer and follows up on it. Among these issues, the IMHAB acknowledges that the heating is not working properly in three apartments, but maintains that "all apartments have hot water." The same sources indicate that the IMHAB has accepted some of the residents' requests for improvements, "although these do not affect the habitability of the apartments." Specifically, they note that the agency has committed to enclosing the heat pump unit in a cabinet—to reduce the problems caused by the heat emitted by the device and the potential for mice to enter the apartments—and to installing new awnings on the windows. Regarding the mouse infestation, they say it should be handled by the building manager and that they will contact them to find out when the work will be carried out and to follow up. They also assure that IMHAB plans to inspect the building soon to assess the issues that have been resolved and those that remain, and to schedule their resolution with the developer.