The Barcelona City Council welcomed, this Wednesday, December 14, the neighbors of a new property acquired by the Barcelona consistory. After the last reception, held in mid-November in the Gòtic district of Ciutat Vella, this time the property is located in the district of Sant Martí.
The building, consisting of 10 apartments, is located on Calle Navas de Tolosa and has a built area of 696 square meters. The reception was headed by the Councilor for Housing and Renovation of the Barcelona City Council, Lucía Martín, as well as the manager of the Municipal Institute for Housing and Renovation of Barcelona (IMHAB), Gerard Capó.
Both stressed the City Council’s commitment to the acquisition of housing that promotes and extends social housing to all corners of the city, which among other benefits, allows tenants to pay affordable rent in a stable manner without having to suffer in case it ends up falling into the hands of a private entity.
The Sant Martí property was acquired through the right of first refusal system, which allows other private buyers who may also be interested in purchasing it to get a head start. In this case, the price at which the building has been acquired is below the market, specifically 44.5%.
The building, built in 1940, is currently home to seven families who, thanks to this operation, will be able to remain in the neighborhood, while the remaining three dwellings will become part of the public housing stock. Its structure consists of a first floor and five floors, forming a total of 10 dwellings, two per floor. All of them, intended for residential use, except the first floor, where there is a commercial space for the time being without activity.
A strong commitment to social housing
The data show that the Barcelona City Council has consolidated its commitment to expand the public housing stock in recent years. Specifically, since June 2015 it has purchased a total of 1,367 homes, from the sum of 240 homes acquired individually and 946 homes from 44 entire estates acquired.