The Generalitat is studying a possible route to release 1,216 protected homes in Badia del Vallès after months of pressure from affected owners, according to reporting by Clàudia Mas in El Periódico published on 21 July.

For owners of the flats, the review matters because the homes were expected to enter the free market in February 2026 after the 50-year term of their protected-housing status expired. They remain protected under a Catalan housing law that took effect at the start of 2026.

Final stage of Badia's protected-housing transition halted

Badia del Vallès, a Barcelona metropolitan-area municipality with 13,109 residents, was built around protected housing for working families. It was the only municipality in Spain developed entirely as officially protected housing, according to El Periódico.

The 1,216 homes were due to be the final part of a wider transition in a town with about 5,200 dwellings. A previous phase released 4,156 homes from the protected-housing regime in 2023.

  • 2023: 4,156 homes in Badia del Vallès left the protected-housing regime.
  • 6 February 2026: the remaining homes were expected to enter the free market after 50 years of protection.
  • Early 2026: the new Catalan housing measures kept homes in designated pressured housing areas under indefinite official protection.

Badia del Vallès is among the municipalities designated by the Generalitat as pressured housing areas. The legal change therefore stopped the scheduled release of the remaining flats, creating different legal outcomes for neighbours whose homes had followed the same protected-housing model.

No release decision has been announced

The Generalitat's current work is described as a study of a possible solution, not as a confirmed decision to remove the homes' protected status. The reporting does not specify which legal option is being assessed or give a date for a decision.

A platform representing affected owners has previously examined legal avenues and collected signatures to submit its complaint to the Síndic de Greuges, Catalonia's ombudsman, arguing that the differing treatment of homes is unfair. Owners should note that no official procedure or timetable for the 1,216 flats has been announced.

Reported by Source Text Link, Clàudia Mas, Lluís Pellicer, Clara Blanchar, El Periódico Barcelona.