> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://barna.news/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Hundred protest against private housing tenders in Barcelona - URL: https://barna.news/hundred-protest-against-private-housing/ - Published: 2026-11-01T11:47:19.000Z - Updated: 2026-11-01T11:47:19.000Z - Description: Demonstrators demand city halt tenders allowing private firms to build on public land, citing long-term profiteering. - Author: Barna.News News Desk - Tags: Housing ## Protesters call for halt to private housing contracts Around 100 people gathered on Tuesday 27th October 2026 in Plaça Sant Jaume, Barcelona, in a demonstration organised by the Xarxa d’Economia Solidària de Catalunya (XES), calling for an end to municipal housing tenders that allow private companies to develop public land. The protest, held under the slogan 'Enough privatization of public housing', focused on three active tenders that together foresee the construction of 1,032 affordable rental homes across eight plots in the city. The demonstrators urged Barcelona City Council to stop the procedures, warning that awarding long-term management to for-profit operators would allow private entities to profit for decades, even after construction costs have been recouped. They contrasted this with cooperative-led models, which they say reinvest income into maintenance and can gradually reduce tenant fees. --- ## Alternative model: land transfer to cooperatives Protesters called on the council to instead extend the ESAL agreement, a framework established with social organisations to transfer municipal land for the development of protected housing. According to Barcelona City Council, the existing ESAL agreement has already delivered over 1,000 homes and is on track to exceed its 2030 target, with stages five and six set to add around 344 more homes across seven sites in districts including Sant Martí and Nou Barris. XES argues that expanding this model could deliver more than 2,000 cooperative and social homes by 2030\. Spokesperson Edo Bazzaco compared the private management model to toll highways, stating: > “Private agents will profit for the coming decades, even when the development has been paid off for years.” He stressed that public land ownership alone is insufficient: who manages the housing and where rental income flows are equally critical. --- ## Tenders under scrutiny The three contested tenders were launched between December 2024 and July 2026\. The first, already awarded, covers plots on Carrer d’Acer, Carrer d’Ascó, and Carrer de Llull, totalling 407 homes. The second, announced on 26th March 2026, includes sites on Carrer dels Motors and Passeig de Torras i Bages, with 350 homes; bids have closed and evaluation is pending. The third, still open, involves Avinguda Diagonal and Carrer de Veneçuela, with 275 homes; the deadline has been extended to 27th November 2026\. All three fall under Barcelona City Council’s broader strategy to accelerate affordable housing delivery by involving both private operators and non-profits. Under these contracts, developers gain long-term surface rights (50–75 years) to build and manage homes, though the land remains publicly owned. ### Plenary session postponed The protest coincided with a scheduled municipal plenary session, which was suspended due to the three-day national mourning period declared after the fatal train collision in Toledo on 28th October 2026\. The session had been set to vote on transferring two plots for 112 protected homes to cooperative entities. Since the start of the current term, the council has approved land transfers for 72 homes via such agreements, fewer than in the previous term. Residents and activists now await renewed debate on the city’s housing strategy, with pressure mounting to prioritise non-profit over private development models. --- *Sources:* [*La Ciutat*](https://laciutat.cat/laciutatdebarcelona/100-persones-diuen-prou-privatitzacio-habitatge-public-barcelona%5F904135%5F102.html?ref=barna.news)*,* [*Ajuntament de Barcelona*](https://www.barcelona.cat/infobarcelona/en/tema/housing/call-for-tenders-to-build-625-homes-with-affordable-rents-on-municipal-sites%5F1613853.html?ref=barna.news)*,* [*telesurenglish.net*](https://www.telesurenglish.net/spain-3-days-mourning-toledo-tragedy/?ref=barna.news)*.* --- ### Related on Barna.News - [399 Affordable Homes to Be Built in Barcelona](https://barna.news/399-affordable-homes-to-be-built-in/) - [L'Hospitalet to Buy Land for Social Housing](https://barna.news/l-hospitalet-to-buy-land-for-social/) - [Sant Cugat to Build 5,500 Homes at Ca n’Ametller](https://barna.news/sant-cugat-to-build-5-500-homes-at-ca/) - [Santa Coloma to Build 38 Affordable Homes](https://barna.news/santa-coloma-to-build-38-affordable/)