The City Council maintains that it has halted the 30% sanctions while waiting for judicial approval

BarcelonaBarcelona City Council has assured this Monday that it maintains its intention to collect fines from developers who have breached its 30% social housing reserve. "We are committed to strictly enforcing and going to the last consequences in complying with the regulations," stressed the first deputy mayor, Laia Bonet, who admitted that nine of the files expired and were administratively archived, but assured that another route was initiated, that of the restitution procedure, developers and imposing the corresponding sanction.

Bonet's explanations on Monday are far from those that official sources from the City Council had given in the NOW a few days ago. These sources had then explained that all the open files had been "archived" and that this had been done for two reasons: the "legal doubts" about the outcome of the litigation that could come after the sanctions and the will of the Collboni government to modify a rule that had been approved in Barcelona at the time,

"Since the possible modification of the measure that enabled the possibility of sanctioning the non-compliance with the 30% rating was known, for reasons of prudence, coherence and effectiveness, it was decided not to open these files again while waiting for the approval of the new regulations," he says. They also pointed to a legal report that they did not provide, despite requests from this newspaper for fifteen days. A report in which, they said, some legal doubts were collected about the viability of the sanctions if they ended up being judicialized.

In an emergency appearance before the media on Monday, Bonet denied that the files were stopped pending the reform of the norm and gave details that until now the City Council had not provided. He explained that, given the doubts generated by the path opened by the previous government –of which they were part–, they decided to change it. According to Bonet, instead of simultaneously carrying out the restoration processes –adaptation of the work to the 30% norm– and the sanction processes, the executive of Jaume Collboni opted to divide these two paths.

In this way, the City Council now says that before opening the sanctioning path, the phase of restoration of legality must first be exhausted. In this regard, Bonet explained that there are nine "live" files and that, in the case of the block at 242 Castillejos Street, it received just fifteen days ago a favourable ruling confirming that the 30% rule had been breached - and, therefore, endorses the file for restoration of legality. An endorsement that will lead to a new sanctioning file being opened in the next few days. Bonet did not detail the price of the fine, but at the time the proposed sanction for this case had been set at 419,411 euros.

As for the eight remaining files that the City Council says it is keeping "live", Bonet has assured that they are in different phases of the process, but that they should follow the same path as that of Castillejos Street. Municipal sources later specified that beyond Castillejos there are two other files appealed to the Administrative Litigation, one in the phase of review of the allegations and five in which the promoters filed an appeal, the last step before reaching the judicial route. Bonet reiterated that the will of the municipal government is to enforce the files. "We will go to the last consequences," he stressed.

As for whether more cases of non-compliance have been detected since the wave of inspections in 2022 was carried out, Bonet has assured that the executive has a new protocol that, in coordination with the districts, even allows for anticipating inspections. According to him, during 2024 up to 2,500 data of construction permits granted were crossed so that the districts could verify from the beginning whether they were in accordance with the reality of the works being carried out. He has not specified, however, whether any non-compliance has been detected during this process.

The 30% promoter group asks Collboni for explanations

Before Bonet's appearance, ERC councillor Eva Baró had expressed concern about the archiving of the files on the developers who had breached the protected housing reserve. The Republicans demanded that the government make public the legal report that would have served as a guarantee for deciding not to keep the proceedings open. Baró has warned Collboni that forgiving the fines to the developers who have breached the 30% rule "would amend the commitment that the government claims to have in the fight against speculation".

From Barcelona En Comú, the leader of the group, Janet Sanz, has also attacked the lack of sanctions to the developers who have breached the 30% measure. In a press conference, she said that behind the lack of payment of the fines there are not "technical reasons" but "a political decision" and accused Collboni of being "an accomplice" to the developers who violate the rule.

Junts por Barcelona councillor Damià Calvet has also questioned the fact that the City Council archived the files and has stressed that the council "has the responsibility and obligation to pursue offenders". Calvet has assured that the mayor "is a victim of his own irresponsibility" because from the beginning of the mandate he has the possibility of modifying the norm that regulates the 30 percent of protected housing. From the PP, the leader of the popular party in the City Council, Daniel Sirera, considered it "common sense" to leave the sanctions without effect because the norm is "a legal botch".

Also from the Promoting Group of the 30% Measure – formed by the PAH Barcelona, ​​​​the Renters' Union, the Assembly of Neighborhoods for the Decrease in Tourism (ABDT), the Federation of Neighborhood Associations of Barcelona (FAVB), the DESCA Observatory, and the Collboni Cooperative Housing Sector, the publication of the legal reports that justify the archiving of the files and the shielding of the measure.