Mayors from three cities in Greater Barcelona have called for a joint metropolitan response to the housing crisis, arguing that local councils have land but lack the legal powers and resources to build enough affordable homes. For residents seeking lower-cost housing, the scale of the shortfall remains stark: Badalona says it needs about 3,000 social and affordable homes, while Sabadell says its planned increase in social housing will still fall well short of need.

At the fourth BCN Desperta forum at Casa Seat in Barcelona, the mayors of Badalona, Sabadell and Santa Coloma de Gramenet said housing policy must be coordinated between municipalities and with higher levels of government, according to Metropoli Abierta's report of the debate.

"We need a supportive distribution of the need to grow," Mireia González, mayor of Santa Coloma de Gramenet, said.

González said Santa Coloma has converted several sites into social housing, but described the municipality as a relatively small city with limited space for further growth.

Housing targets remain below identified need

The mayors set out the pressures facing their cities:

  • Badalona has launched three social or affordable housing developments containing about 150 homes after two decades without such projects, Mayor Xavier García Albiol said.
  • García Albiol said Badalona needs around 3,000 social and affordable homes to start meeting residents' needs.
  • Sabadell expects social housing to rise from 2% to 3% of its housing stock by the end of the current council term, Mayor Marta Farrés said, but added that at least twice that level is needed.

Farrés said homes cannot be planned in isolation. New housing also requires public services, including schools, health centres and sports facilities, she said.

Mayors differ on proposed housing decrees

The three mayors agreed that housing is an essential good, but differed over two housing decrees recently proposed by Spain's central government under Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez. The socialist mayors supported the measures, while García Albiol, of the Partido Popular, said reforms must give legal certainty to both tenants and owners.

"Until now, we have let the market operate freely, and it has not worked," Farrés said.

García Albiol said that 92% of the housing stock is owned by small-scale landlords, attributing the figure to Bank of Spain data. He argued that owners could withdraw homes from the rental market without stronger legal guarantees, a claim made during the forum.

Elsewhere in Catalonia on Catalan.News: Housing Crisis Fuelling Far-Right Rise, Warns Activist.

Reported by metropoliabierta.cat.