Barcelona’s Ciutat Vella district is increasing checks on bar and restaurant terraces and tourist accommodation as part of efforts to enforce rules in areas with heavy visitor activity. For residents in the Raval, Gòtic, Barceloneta and Sant Pere, Santa Caterina i la Ribera, the campaign is intended to address unauthorised tables, signage and accommodation operating from residential properties.

During a three-month inspection campaign from 1 December 2025 to 28 February 2026, the Ajuntament de Barcelona, the city council, opened cases involving 34 terraces and detected 93 irregular activities in residential buildings, according to figures presented to the Ciutat Vella district plenary by councillor Albert Batlle.

Terrace cases concentrated in Sant Pere, Santa Caterina i la Ribera

Of the 34 terrace cases recorded in the winter campaign, 15 were in Sant Pere, Santa Caterina i la Ribera. The Raval had eight, Barceloneta seven and the Gòtic four.

  • 73 cases concerned tourist flats operating without a licence.
  • 20 concerned unauthorised shared homes.
  • Sant Pere, Santa Caterina i la Ribera recorded 37 residential-property cases, including 33 illegal tourist flats.
  • The Raval recorded 27 cases, while the Gòtic had 19 and Barceloneta 10.

The figures concern detected irregular activity and administrative cases, rather than final penalties. The reported purpose of concentrating checks in Ciutat Vella is to make tourism and hospitality activity compatible with residents’ day-to-day life.

223 breaches found in Barceloneta terrace operation

The Guardia Urbana, Barcelona’s municipal police, and Ciutat Vella district inspectors also carried out two terrace-inspection operations in Barceloneta during July. They checked 44 premises on Passeig de Joan de Borbó Comte de Barcelona and Carrer de Miquel de Pedrola i Alegre, according to the Ajuntament’s district announcement.

Forty Guardia Urbana officers took part. The operation identified 223 breaches relating to the layout of tables and chairs and to signage.

Albert Batlle identified recurring problems on Passeig de Joan de Borbó, including customer touts, unauthorised signs and more tables than permitted.

Earlier checks of 129 establishments with terraces in Ciutat Vella found an infringement at every premises inspected, according to reporting on the district’s enforcement work. Inspectors had focused first on the 85 premises that had received the most complaints, finding that 17 lacked a terrace licence.

Businesses with terraces in the district can consult the Ciutat Vella district notice for the locations and types of breaches targeted during the Barceloneta operation.

Primary sources: ajuntament.barcelona.cat, Ramon, Ramon, Ramon. Reported by Source Text Link, Edu Gil, Alfonso L. Congostrina, elperiodico.com, Gerard Pruna, Europa Press, Clara Blanchar, Patricia Castán, Arnau Raimundo, Karissa Key, Cesc Maideu, El Periódico, Ángela Vázquez, lavanguardia.com, Metrópoli Abierta - Urban Life.