"We're risking the neighborhood": blocks owned by investment funds in the Left of the Eixample district have increased by 70% in one year
A report by the Residents' Association warns that up to 867 buildings could end up in the hands of investment funds
BarcelonaThat the Eixample district is one of Barcelona's most coveted areas for investment funds has long been a known fact. The efforts of local residents are slowly but surely putting data and faces to this reality. This Tuesday, the Left Eixample Residents' Association presented its analysis of how speculation is affecting their neighborhoods. The report shows how, in just one year, the number of entire apartment blocks in the area owned by investment funds has increased by 70%. "We're risking our neighborhood," warned the association's vice president, Xavier Riu. Alongside the Socialist Housing Union of Catalonia and the Tenants' Union, Riu presented the report that the Residents' Association has compiled in recent weeks. The study, which combines land registry consultations, major building permits, and listings on real estate portals with fieldwork meticulously surveying the Nova and Antiga Izquierda (New and Old Left) sections of the Eixample district, maintains that the number of buildings owned by investment funds has multiplied in the last twelve months. While the Residents' Association counted 40 a year ago, that number has now risen to 68. However, this figure could skyrocket in the coming years. The same study asserts that, of the 3,036 residential buildings in the Left Eixample, 867 are vertically owned—a single owner possesses all the apartments—and are therefore susceptible to falling into the hands of investment funds if no action is taken. Riu himself explained how, in recent years, many of the former owners of Eixample buildings have died, and their heirs have opted to sell the properties to investment funds. This, he lamented, has led to the loss of the close relationship between landlords and tenants that existed before, and to new landlords primarily seeking profitability. Hence the proliferation of seasonal and colivingsand the loss of residents in the area.
"Those taking our homes aren't squatters, but banks and investment funds," said Riu, who emphasized that he has called on residents to mobilize to prevent it. "If we don't stop it, this will end up being a stage set, not a neighborhood," he warned. In this regard, both he and the representatives of the Tenants' Union and the Socialist Housing Union of Catalonia, Gerard Mena and Anna Olesti, have asked for greater involvement from institutions. On the one hand, to approve in Congress the proposed reform of the Urban Leases Law (LAU) to regulate seasonal rentals, and on the other hand, to increase inspections to enforce current regulations.
In this regard, they denounced that in many cases these 68 properties that have ended up in the hands of the funds have circumvented measures such as the 30% quota for subsidized housing in Barcelona. They claim that they applied for minor building permits for separate projects on different floors of the same building to circumvent the regulation, which affects both new construction and major renovations. "We demand increased inspections to protect the neighborhood and curb speculation," he said.
The next Casa Orsola?
As an example of the situation in the neighborhood, the press conference was held in front of Casa Fajol, popularly known as Casa de la Papallona, on Llançà Street. This blog is owned by NAD, as is the case with the blog it has on San Agustín Street In Gràcia, no contracts have been renewed for residents with the aim of carrying out colivingsOne of those residents is Marga Aguilar, who also spoke at the press conference to explain that she has a court hearing this Tuesday to decide whether she can be evicted or stay in her lifelong apartment. Like her, four other families are in legal proceedings to be evicted from their apartments. Five others have already left. A year after the mobilizations for Casa Orsola, Casa de la Mariposa is poised to take up the mantle as a symbol of the fight for housing in the Eixample district. Olesti—who, in addition to being the spokesperson for the Socialist Housing Union of Catalonia, lives in Casa de la Mariposa—warned that no resident will abandon their home, and that the apartments will become a "trench" and "a problem" for the City Council. Along the same lines, Mena added that they will be a "thorn in the side" of landlords who speculate on housing.