Tenants celebrate 'victory' one year on from Casa Orsola purchase

One year after Barcelona City Council and the Hàbitat 3 social housing foundation announced the purchase of Casa Orsola, the Tenants' Union (Sindicat de Llogateres) and the building's residents view the outcome as a "victory."

Casa Orsola, in the city's Esquerra de l'Eixample neighborhood became a symbol of Barcelona's housing crisis after Lioness Inversiones (Lioness Investments) bought the building in October 2021 for over €5 million and refused to renew residents' rental contracts. 

Now, Elisenda Paños, a longtime resident, says the current situation has brought a sense of relief. For their part, the council view the acquisition – which they describe as "extraordinary" – positively.   

With the six short-term rental units in the building now empty, the council is finalizing procedures to hand over management of the entire property to Hàbitat 3.

Once an agreement is signed this month, vacant units will be allocated through the public housing registry, council sources told the Catalan News Agency (ACN). 

Vacant units will have rents set in line with social housing rules or the rent cap. Apartments owned by the city will remain on the regular rental market, while those acquired by Hàbitat 3 will be classified as protected housing as existing leases expire.

Elisenda lives in one of the council-owned units, and had faced potential eviction after her previous contract expired in 2022.

"Given the situation we were coming from, right on the brink of eviction, this year – compared with the four years we went through – we've felt a bit more at ease, obviously," she says.

Elisdendra now pays rent to the city but is awaiting a new contract. "We've continued paying what we were paying before, but now we're paying the council rather than the court."

In total, eight flats in Casa Orsola are currently vacant – including former short-term rentals and one unit vacated due to the death of the previous tenant.

Elisenda explains the apartments have not been empty for long. She hopes someone will be able to move in soon, recalling that the Casa Orsola struggle began when there were attempts to "push out" long-term tenants in order to raise prices through short-term and tourist rentals.

Turning point

Carme Arcarazo, spokesperson for the Tenants' Union, says Casa Orsola was a "turning point" for Barcelona, inspiring residents in other buildings to resist eviction and stand up for regulated rentals.

"It was a clear case of residents who, faced with eviction, say 'we will not leave,' not just for ourselves but to defend Barcelona from speculation, from pushing residents out, and from short-term seasonal rentals," she says.

The Tenants' Union says residents in around 100 buildings across Barcelona are now organizing to prevent evictions, aiming to gain "control" of their homes.

"It’s very hard to think you can win against a giant like an investment fund," she says.

Arcarazo praises the regulation of short-term rentals, which had been the main driver of tenant displacement, but also stresses that the city should "protect residents and expand public housing" through acquisitions, whether via direct purchase or through the right of first refusal.

With the recent approval of a new ordinance governing rights of first refusal and buyback, council sources say the city now has a "much more clearly defined" regulatory framework that allows it to explore new acquisitions in partnership with the social housing sector.

Podcast

To learn more about Casa Orsola, check out this episode of our podcast Filling the Sink, recorded in February 2025 after the purchase of the building.