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Barcelona Adds 296 Public Housing Units Through 2025 Purchases, Moves to Loosen 30% Rule

City leaders aim to speed affordable delivery by shifting relocations to simple licensing under a regional budget-law change.

Overview

  • City data show €48.95 million spent in 2025 to acquire 97 flats (€21.71m), three plots with capacity for 119 homes (€4.89m), and a Via Laietana building that will free space for 80 dwellings (€22.35m).
  • Only 89 of the roughly 300 units counted are finished or habitable, with the rest tied to future construction or rehabilitation before occupancy.
  • The 30% inclusionary rule yielded 12 homes acquired by the city in 2025, and the government will seek a parliamentary change so relocations within the same neighborhood no longer require a Plan de Mejora Urbana.
  • Barcelona has earmarked €20 million for further purchases in 2026 and expects to reach €100 million in acquisitions by the end of the term, with an emphasis on tanteo and retracto operations.
  • The Generalitat reports 5,491 homes added to the public rental stock between 2021 and 2025 largely via preferential purchases and direct buys, while Sabadell advances a plan targeting 1,829 new homes by 2030 with 531 public projects underway.