Since 2010, housing prices in the European Union have surged by over 50% on average, while rents have climbed by 26%. Spain is among the hardest-hit nations, with rents increasing by up to 80% in the past decade.
This is a crisis caused by a cocktail of scarce housing supply, inflated construction costs, the boom in short-term rentals, and foreign investor speculation.
“Barcelona is a city full of tourists. Rents are extortionate,” says Rosario Castelló, a longtime resident and member of the tenants’ union, Sindicat de Llogateres.
She faces eviction after her apartment block was purchased by Vandor Group, a subsidiary of British investment fund Patron Capital.
“I’ve lived in my flat for 26 years,” explains Rosario. “It’s where I raised my children, and where I have my clothing brand Pinku No Kuma,” she says showing the dresses she designs with her daughter.
“And Vandor wants to take my house away from me, along with everything I’ve achieved here,” she adds.
Rosario is the last of the building’s former tenants. All the other flats were turned into co-living spaces, rented to foreigners on short term leases.
“Vulture funds are massively buying entire buildings for speculation. And they’re throwing us all out,” storms Castelló. “It must stop.”
Despite her lease having expired, she refuses to leave and is in legal proceedings with the owner to which she still pays rent.
“They offered me a small fee to get me out,” she explains, “but rental prices are extortionate. I have nowhere to go.”
Across Barcelona, residents like Rosario are banding together. Supported by the Sindicat de Llogateres, they are fighting to avoid evictions and pressure public authorities to intervene.
“There is a total lack of protection for the right to housing,” exclaims Martina Ges Torra, another member of the tenants’ union. “We will collectively defend this right.”
The Spanish government is trying to curb the crisis. Measures include plans to remove 65,000 Airbnb listings, increase taxes on property purchases by non-EU nationals, and enforce rental caps.
“We have started to regulate the rise in rental prices,” says Barcelona’s Mayor, Jaume Collboni, noting an 8% price drop in Barcelona.
Another sweeping measure will eliminate all Airbnb apartments in the city by 2028, returning 10,000 homes to residential use.
“And in Catalonia, short-term rentals will be subject to the same price cap,” adds the mayor. “This means a huge drop in profitability for investment funds – it’s a deterrent.”
Jaume Collboni is leading the ‘Mayors for Housing Alliance’ initiative, involving 15 major European cities. They have presented the EU with a European Housing Action Plan urging Brussels to invest in affordable housing and exempt such spending from the limitations of state aid rules.
“The European Commission must act,” insists Collboni. “If citizens see that European institutions aren’t addressing a problem of such magnitude, it could trigger a crisis of legitimacy,” he says, concluding: “It’s not just a social issue. The future of the European project, and of democracy itself, are also at stake.”
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