Barcelona mayor proposes easing affordable housing quota for major renovations

Barcelona mayor Jaume Collboni is looking for ways to lower the 30% affordable housing requirement introduced by his predecessor Ada Colau.

The city council's ruling Socialists have presented various measures to the other parties, including relaxing the rule for major renovation projects and introducing various compensation mechanisms for new developments.

One such mechanism would allow builders to fulfill the requirement by developing affordable housing on publicly-owned plots elsewhere in the city.

The proposal also suggests that affordable housing units could be built as part of another development – either in the same neighborhood or a neighboring one – or they could be located in vacant homes built in the same neighborhood.

The plans are – seen by the Catalan News Agency (ACN) after being first reported by Catalan public broadcaster TV3 and the newspaper Ara – are still being negotiated, according to a council source.

Regarding major renovations of existing buildings, the proposal raises the threshold at which developers must create affordable housing from 600 to 1,500 square meters. 

Janet Sanz, head of the left-wing BComú group in the council, accused Collboni of "signing – along with developers and the right – the death sentence for affordable housing in central Barcelona."

Sanz said that the Socialists' proposal allows developers to "avoid the responsibility of building affordable housing by paying their way out, in addition to adding so many exceptions that practically no one will have to comply with the 30% rule."

Asked about the plans at an event on Thursday, First Deputy Mayor Laia Bonet avoided giving details of the proposal or negotiations.

The council will respect the "confidentiality" of their meetings, Bonet said, adding that they are working to make the 30% requirement "operational."

The current rule, "although absolutely desirable," is not producing the expected results, she argued.

Criticism from the Tenants’ Union

The Tenants’ Union released a statement accusing Collboni of "presenting a dismantling of the 30% affordable housing quota, under the orders of the construction lobby."

"Excluding a large portion of major renovations means leaving hundreds of buildings unprotected with residents who could be evicted," they said.

They also said that allowing the affordable housing quota to be moved to other plots "deepens segregation of affordable housing units."

The union reiterated that the goal of the current measure is to increase affordable housing stock and "discourage more aggressive speculative operations."