The Hospitalet City Council was working to buy the block where the shoe shop of the man who committed suicide was located

BarcelonaThe L'Hospitalet City Council was finalizing the paperwork to buy the block where the shoe store run by Javi was located, the 60-year-old man who committed suicide this Wednesday before being evicted from his business. Municipal sources confirm, just as the man's acquaintances explained, that he was going to be evicted from his shoe store this October 5th and specify that he had unpaid debts since 2024, which was why he had this legal proceeding open. Sources from the city council also confirm that the man lived in another apartment, which was his main residence, although lately he had spent a few nights at the shop.

The city council also asserts that it had been working since November 2025 on the purchase of this block, located in Samontà, and four entire buildings in the same area to prevent them from falling into the hands of an investment fund. The current ownership, a family real estate company that has kept these properties for rent since the sixties, had communicated its intention to sell them to a fund and the City Council applied its right of first refusal, the council states in a statement. In this document, they specify that next Tuesday, October 6th, was the day scheduled for an extraordinary plenary session to assess and approve the credit modification that would allow allocating the 2025 surplus to the purchase. The goal was to buy them in two phases: two or three buildings in 2026 and the rest in 2027. The City Council adds that the Spanish government decree that allows city councils to use surpluses for financially sustainable investments, among which is the purchase of housing, has opened the door to carrying out the operation.

The City Council was not aware of it

The city council states that it wanted to subrogate all current rental contracts, including those with old rent control. The planned investment is 27 million euros. Municipal sources admit that this action would not have stopped the eviction of Javi's premises, scheduled for October 5th, but they also state that they had no knowledge of his situation or this eviction, as he had never gone to social services nor did he have any vulnerability report.

Javi's inner circle laments that the man was very worried. "He didn't know what to do, neither with the machines in the shoe repair shop nor with his own life," explain people close to him. This Wednesday, a neighbor from the building where the business he managed was also located saw the shutter half-lowered and suspected that something was wrong. Throughout the morning, several neighbors had wondered why the business was closed. Finally, he decided to lift the shutter and found Javi's lifeless body.

In turn, the TSJC (High Court of Justice of Catalonia) has confirmed that the civil courts of L'Hospitalet had an open case for non-payment of the premises. In January 2025, the property owner filed a complaint because he had not paid the rent for eight months, and in December of the same year, the judge admitted the claim. Judicial sources have informed that in May 2026 the complaint was personally notified to him, "and at no time did he present any written opposition." Since he did not file an appeal, the TSJC indicates, the judge closed the case and in June notified the man that the eviction was scheduled to be executed on October 5th. "There is no record of any request for a postponement or any other petition," the same sources assure.