93 families participated in the public housing draw in the fourth phase of the Bon Pastor renovation, and which will determine the order in which the homes will be chosen. Four draws were made, defined by the number of bedrooms and composition of the family units. The draw, made before a notary, was attended by the Housing Councillor, Lucía Martín and the renowned specialist in Public Housing Stock, Pilar Gràcia. Ms Martín highlighted that with this draw “we are making history, you are making history, and we are here to celebrate it together.”
This draw culminates the fourth phase of the renovation process of the Bon Pastor neighbourhood which envisages the replacement of 784 Cases Barates, with damp problems with new homes. “I grew up feeling that this moment would have to come. Finally, the culmination has arrived, this is the last draw we will make to rehouse the families from the Cases Barates”, explained Ms Martín. The Housing Councillor also wanted to remind attendees of the importance of the neighbourhood’s fight in making the project a reality. “The Bon Pastor residents’ association has been supporting the residents and fighting to ensure this whole process becomes a reality, so congratulations on having managed to get this far and I am very happy to share this moment with you”, said Ms Martin.
In this phase, 93 homes in three buildings are awarded. The first, with accesses from Carrer Claramunt 55 and Carrer Solomon 1 and 7, consists of 38 homes spread across three blocks. 23 of these homes have three bedrooms, 14 have two and one is an adapted one-bedroom flat. It also houses three commercial premises on the ground floor and 38 parking spaces and 17 storage rooms in the basement. The second building, on Carrer Novelles 1-3, consists of six floors, a ground floor as well as two basement areas. There will be 42 homes having between 60 and 89 usable square metres. Of these homes, there will be 16 two-bedroomed flats and 26 three-bedroomed flats. The third multi-family building will house 60 homes, and a car park on c / Biosca, 20-28.
400 public homes being constructed in Sant Andreu
The Sant Andreu neighbourhood contains a large concentration of the protected housing developments in Barcelona. Between 2016 and 2021, 14 developments were completed providing a total of 548 homes, developed by Barcelona’s Municipal Housing Institute along with the collaboration of private developers. It currently has 405 homes under construction and 290 more planned.
Acquisition of homes from the private market
The construction of new homes is not the only strategy used to increase the city’s public housing stock. Between 2015 and 2021, the City Council has purchased 1,045 homes from the private market to convert them into social rental housing. In 2021 alone, 377 properties were purchased, of which 358 correspond to 12 entire properties and 19 to individual homes.
The City Council has also obtained homes from the private market to address the housing emergency and increase the affordable housing stock through four programmes. The first, the agreement with SAREB and Building Center which, since 2015, has obtained 181 empty homes for the Emergency Board and already occupied flats where the situation of families has been assessed to arrange a social rental, if necessary. Through the agreement with the Hàbitat 3 Foundation, signed in 2015 and renewed for four years in 2019, 403 empty homes have been obtained. In 2020, the acquisition of tourist flats programme began, which has obtained 130 homes to provide a temporary housing solution to families who are currently staying in hostels. Finally, 1,120 homes have been obtained for the Barcelona Rental Stock since 2015.