Access to housing, a top priority for Barcelona City Council
Within the framework of the Pla Viure (Life Plan), the Barcelona City Council plans to deliver 3,000 homes and accumulate enough municipal land to build another 10,000 by 2027.


Today, access to housing is, along with insecurity, the issue that most distresses the citizens of Barcelona. In a context where exorbitant prices have become the norm, the city council has been working for some time to reverse the situation and provide decent and affordable housing for citizens through the construction of social housing, 88% of which was planned to be built on municipal land by 2023. Now, with the rollout of the Vivir Plan and under the slogan "We prioritize housing," the city has placed access to housing at the center of municipal action with three objectives: universalize the right to this housing; rehabilitate and improve homes based on criteria of sustainability, accessibility, and comfort; and address vulnerability, the demographic challenge, and life stages. This milestone requires the collaboration of all stakeholders involved in the management and execution that must lead to its achievement and explains the recent creation of the new Department of Protected Housing, which must help plan, coordinate, and implement the necessary actions. Areas such as Glòries, La Sagrera, Marina de El Prat Vermell, and 22@, which have great potential for expanding affordable housing in the city, will be strategic.
Long-term vision
The main objective of the Viure Plan is, therefore, to coordinate and optimize efforts and resources to expand the supply of social and affordable housing. The plan promotes the principle of co-responsibility, understanding that collaboration between the public, private, and social sectors is essential to accelerate the construction of affordable housing. In this regard, Barcelona City Council has already opened the door to new operators to promote housing through competitions, which will mobilize greater resources and enable new forms of construction, such as industrialized housing. Not only that, but institutional collaboration between the Barcelona City Council, the Generalitat de Catalunya (Government of Catalonia), and the Ministry of Housing and Urban Agenda will also be key to offering a coordinated and effective response.
A long-distance race in which initiatives such as the declaration of Barcelona as a Tensioned Residential Market Zone, the implementation of the reference index for rental prices, and the elimination, in November 2028, of more than 10,000 tourist-use housing licenses (HUT) in the city have been fundamental, which makes it possible.
3,000 homes delivered by 2027
The Plan Vivir's objectives in figures are ambitious, but at the same time, achievable. To begin with, the plan has set out to act sustainably, building 1,000 homes annually on municipal land. Fifty public rental homes in the Bon Pastor neighborhood, the keys to which were handed over last April.
The 56 rental homes for young people in the Casernes J development, located in the former Sant Andreu Barracks and whose keys were handed over last May, are another example of the diligence with which the Barcelona City Council is promoting the construction of these homes. These homes, which are characterized by their sustainability, will cost between €487 and €510.
The drawing for 238 public homes on the Isla Glòries neighborhood was also held in May. The Red River, which will have 234 homes that will be handed over next winter, will be the only ones to be awarded.
5,000 homes in different phases of construction
By 2027, 5,000 homes will be in different stages of construction, thanks to the commitment to expand and accelerate the construction of social housing with as many operators as possible. Within this framework, a public tender was launched at the end of 2024 for three municipal land plots with surface rights in the districts of Sant Martí and Sants-Montjuïc. The winning companies will be required to build and manage 350 social housing units under an affordable rental scheme. Specifically, the developments will be built on two plots in the Marina del Prat Vermell neighborhood of Sants-Montjuïc. The one at 2 Carrer del Acer will have 43 homes, and the one at 17 Carrer de Ascó will have 68. The new development in the Sant Martí district will be located on a plot in the Diagonal Mar neighborhood and the Poblenou Seafront, specifically at 355 Carrer Llull, where 240 homes will be built. The tender will be awarded this fall.
Land mobilization for the construction of 10,000 more homes
In order to mobilize sufficient land for the construction of 10,000 affordable homes starting in 2027, Barcelona City Council has also carried out various urban development projects, including the re-parcelling of the Prim sector in La Sagrera, which will allow for the construction of 3,360 homes, 9 of which will be 2. The objective is to create a new neighborhood core with a high number of public housing units and various amenities around a square surrounding the Can Riera farmhouse and the Horta stream. This project is part of the major urban transformation of the future La Sagrera intermodal station, which plans to create around 15,000 new homes.
The city council, through the city's Plenary Council, also recently approved the transfer of surface rights to Incasol for ten municipal plots of land for the construction of 582 affordable rental homes. These homes will also be located in the districts of Sants-Montjuïc and Sant Martí and will form part of the first phase of the agreement for 1,700 homes with a more inclusive and sustainable construction model.
May 24, 2023
Approval of Housing Law 12/2023, which marks a paradigm shift in housing policies, promoting the right to decent and affordable housing.
June 29, 2023
Publication of the mayoral decree establishing the procedure for declaring areas with stressed residential markets in Barcelona.
January 15, 2024
Collaboration agreement between the City Council and the Generalitat (Generalitat) to create 1,700 homes and, in a first phase, build 582 on plots provided by the council.
March 16, 2024
Entry into force of rental regulations in the Tensioned Residential Market Zone.
April 17, 2024
Agreement with the entities for the modification of the ESAL agreement for the promotion of rental and lease-for-use housing.
June 21, 2024
Barcelona is implementing the Generalitat's Decree-Law on the Regulation of Tourist Housing (HUT) to restore more than 10,000 apartments for residential use.
June 30, 2004
Rents have fallen by 5-6% following the implementation of the cap.
September 15, 2024
Barcelona announces it will allocate €24 million over the next four years to secure private housing for families facing housing emergencies.
September 27, 2024
A six-year extension of the Declaration of First Refusal and Retraction has been approved, allowing the City Council to exercise this right when purchasing private homes.
November 4, 2024
Establishment of a working group to monitor rental price regulation.
November 21, 2024
Start of the participatory process for drafting the new housing plan.
December 5, 2024
Initial approval of the PGM Amendment to regulate seasonal and room rentals.
December 17, 2024
Publication of the tender for the first competition open to private developers for the construction and management of 350 protected housing units.
February 7, 2025
Purchase of Casa Orsola. In addition, since 2023, the City Council has acquired five properties with a total of 74 homes by preemption.
March 18, 2025
Initial approval of the new regulations on preemption and withdrawal.
May 14, 2025
The mayor's address to the EU Committee of the Regions. Approval of the opinion promoted by the city on the need to respond to the "housing emergency" by all institutions.
June 13, 2025
Publication of the guide for the decarbonization of rehabilitation.
June 18, 2025
Signing of the agreement between Barcelona City Council and the CZFB. The Consortium makes 15 plots of land available to the City Council for the construction of 1,603 homes.
July 8, 2025
Delivery of keys to the Inclusive Housing Program aimed at social organizations.
July 11, 2025
170 million allocated to the rehabilitation of 8,700 homes (Next Generation Fund and Housing Consortium).
July 30, 2025
First delivery of keys to the Isla Glòries Development, the largest protected housing development in the city (238 homes).