The High Court of Justice of Catalonia (TSJC) has upheld Badalona City Council’s eviction of the former B9 municipal school, dismissing an appeal brought by 11 occupants against the court authorisation for the operation.

The ruling means the council’s December 2025 clearance of B9 will not have to be repeated through a new procedure. For Badalona residents, migrant support groups and former occupants, the decision confirms that the court considers the council’s notification process and social-services response to have met the legal requirements in this case.

El Periódico, which accessed the judgment, reported that the TSJC’s fifth administrative chamber found that the council had applied a proportionate approach when seeking entry to and evacuation of the building.

The court found that Badalona had “taken into account the social vulnerability of the occupants”.

Appeal rejected over notification and social support

According to the ruling as reported by El Periódico and COPE, the court rejected claims that the eviction had left occupants without an adequate legal defence or breached their fundamental rights.

  • The eviction order was communicated to lawyers representing some occupants.
  • It was also published in Spain’s Official State Gazette, the BOE, and on Badalona City Council’s public noticeboard.
  • The court said the council activated its social-services protocols to offer alternatives to people at risk of social exclusion.

The ruling concerns the former institute known as B9, which had become Catalonia’s largest migrant settlement. Reports have given different counts for the people there: El Periódico described the December operation as removing about 250 migrants, while an earlier report by ARA said that more than 400 people were living in the building before the eviction was authorised.

Eviction followed a 15-day court deadline

Administrative Court No. 11 of Barcelona had authorised the council to clear B9 within 15 days, according to the earlier ARA report. The order permitted police entry and locksmiths’ involvement, while requiring the minimum force necessary and adherence to the municipal protocol for assisting homeless people.

The December 2025 operation took place about two weeks after that order. The TSJC’s decision dismisses the later challenge to the authorisation that allowed it to proceed.

Reported by Source Text Link, Yolanda Canales, Gerardo Santos, Albert Diumenjó Segalà, Pere Virgili, Jesús García Bueno, AP News, catalannews.com, antena3.com, Elena Garrido, Euronews.com, ednews.net, Albert Diumenjó Segalà, Cesc Maideu, Laia Galià, El Periódico Barcelona.