Supreme Court's endorsement of Barcelona's 30% protected housing reserve

BarcelonaAmidst the ongoing debate about the limits of government regulation of housing, the Supreme Court has issued a ruling upholding the 30% social housing quota implemented by the Barcelona City Council during Ada Colau's first term as mayor. In the ruling, which ARA has obtained, the court confirms that urban planning regulations allow for social housing to be reserved in existing buildings, not just on undeveloped land. This means that, as the law stipulates, major building renovations can be mandated to allocate a portion of the property to social housing. In the text, the justices maintain that a property owner does not have the right to "veto the specific use of social housing" as mandated by the legislature. This decision is based on the Constitutional Court's ruling regarding the decree-law on urgent housing measures approved by the Catalan government (Generalitat) under Quim Torra at the end of 2019. In that verdict, the Supreme Court recalls, the court supported the reservation of land for subsidized housing "on developed land and in new or existing buildings that are the subject of construction work." With this argument, the Supreme Court rejects the appeal filed by Josel SLU – of the Núñez y Navarro group – against a 2022 ruling by the High Court of Justice of Catalonia (TSJC), which had already upheld the bulk of the 30% subsidized housing reservation in Barcelona. In its ruling, the Supreme Court also emphasizes that the right to property is "statutory," which means that "it is largely defined in each case by urban planning regulations." The Land and Urban Rehabilitation Law, the court continues, establishes that "it is territorial and urban planning that determines the powers and duties of the right to property according to its intended use." That is to say, "the right of ownership of land includes the powers of use, enjoyment, and exploitation thereof according to its state, classification, objective characteristics, and intended use at any given time, in accordance with the applicable territorial and urban planning legislation."

These conditions, which the Supreme Court emphasizes, do not only affect the land itself, "but also extend to the facilities, constructions, and buildings erected thereon." Furthermore, it specifies that the right of ownership over these existing facilities, constructions, and buildings "includes, for all purposes and regardless of their condition, the obligation to dedicate them to uses compatible with territorial and urban planning."

Rejection of compensation

In its ruling, dated February 5, 2026, the court also rejected the claim that the administration—in this case, the Barcelona City Council—must compensate the owners of the buildings where this 30% quota for subsidized housing must be implemented. In this case, the court argued, firstly, that the regulation does not affect only specific properties, but all those that will be built or undergo major renovation in the future in areas of high demand in the city. Secondly, it pointed out that compensation cannot be based on an expectation of profit; in this case, the difference in income that the owner would receive from selling or renting an apartment at a subsidized price instead of on the open market.