Barcelona moves to prioritize 'habitual and permanent' use of housing and regulate short-term lets

Barcelona city councilors have provisionally approved a text to modify the general metropolitan plan (PGM), defining the main use of housing as "habitual and permanent residence."

The modification aims to distinguish and prioritize the habitual use of housing over temporary uses, and enable the City Council to regulate short-term lets and encourage their incorporation into the regular housing stock.

After the vote on Friday, the next step is for the text to be approved by the Catalan government's Barcelona Urban Planning Subcommittee.

With it in force, the City Council will be able to develop a special plan to limit seasonal rentals "to the maximum."

"We need to know how many rentals we have in the city and where we have them," deputy mayor Laia Bonet said. "Fruadulent rentals need to be returned to the permanent housing stock."

The modification also includes that in order to "preserve" the "habitual and permanent" use of housing, measures may be adopted to "limit or condition" the replacement of housing uses with other uses, especially for tourist accommodation.