The Barcelona City Council has purchased a residential building at 6 Carrer d’Espalter in the Ciutat Vella district, exercising its right of pre-emption to add 8 homes to the city’s public housing stock. The Governing Commission approved the acquisition on Friday 16 October 2026, with the property bought for 1.3 million euros.

The 655-square-metre building includes seven occupied homes and one vacant flat. Two of the occupied units are currently rented through the City Council’s Rental Housing Exchange. The vacant home will be allocated by lottery through the Barcelona City Council’s Registry of Applicants for Official Protection Housing. Three commercial premises are also part of the property, two of which are rented and one vacant.

The per-square-metre price of 3,408.80 euros is below both the local market average and the maximum threshold set by the municipal Ordinance on Pre-emption and Redemption, approved in December 2025. With planned renovations, the total cost of the project is expected to reach 2 million euros.

Targeted Expansion of Public Housing

This is the second such acquisition by the council in under ten days. It follows purchases in the Sant Andreu neighbourhood and the plot housing the Ágora Juan Andrés Benítez, both announced earlier this month. The new property is located in El Raval, described by the council as a high-demand area with limited available land for development.

Under the 2025 ordinance, the council prioritises buildings with more than 10 homes, vacant units, or those housing vulnerable residents, people with disabilities, or individuals under mandatory lease extensions. Priority is also given to areas at risk of gentrification.

"The purchase is part of a strategy to increase public housing in dense urban areas with little available land," stated the council’s official release.

The ordinance allows the council to decline exercising its right of pre-emption and instead transfer it to public housing developers, legal occupants, or non-profit cooperatives. It also enables joint acquisitions, provided the council retains at least one-third ownership.

Since launching its acquisition policy, the council has secured over 1,600 homes for public housing, 315 of which were obtained through pre-emption rights. Carrer d’Espalter building adds to this growing stock, with no eviction proceedings currently linked to the transaction.

Primary sources: Barcelona City Council. Reported by elperiodico.com, diaricatalunya.cat, betevé, Diari Catalunya, El Periódico Barcelona.