The mayor of Barcelona Jaume Callboni advocates a “change of rules of the game” in the city to manage the lack of housing and the overcrowding of tourists, declaring war on the property speculation. He said real estate speculation "will no longer be a business."
Callboni will travel to Brussels this week with other mayors to address the housing crisis. He wants more regulation and he said: no tourist apartment licences will be renewed in 2028 and that the city will be for the citizens.
This shows the trend which is taking place in the country and which we have announced in our article "Tourist licenses in Spain: 2600 licenses to be cancelled in Málaga". We also recommend you following article: "Why NOW is a good moment to sell your property in Spain".
Callboni says all this and more in an interview for the newspaper "El País", headed by the following headline: "In Barcelona, real estate speculation will no longer be a business.".
The interview was conducted by Miguel Noguer and Clara Blancher. Please find below just a short extract of the most impacting parts of the interview:
Reporter: The purchase of Casa Orsola by the City Council raises the debate on whether the middle classes of global cities have the right to live in the city centre. Is that the challenge?
Jaume Callboni: The challenge is to facilitate the living in international cities. This means guaranteeing the right to housing not only to the vulnerable, as has been usual, but to the 75% of the city's population that meets the requirements to access affordable housing.
Reporter: Surveys show housing as the main concern, with 45% of the population not even considering owning a home. Is this the most direct route to the rise of populism?
Jaume Callboni: If democratic governments do not respond to this great challenge of the urban classes, we will be giving free rein to populisms to say that we do not respond. In the face of this, there must be more public and private housing; and in the face of speculation, regulation. In Barcelona we are addressing this. Firstly, by applying rent control, which is lowering prices by 3.6%, while in Madrid they are rising by 15% without regulation. Secondly, in 2028 we will not renew any tourist apartment licences and 10,000 homes will return to the residential market. And thirdly, following the modification of the LAU (Urban Leasing Law) I have asked that seasonal rental apartments be considered normal rentals and be included in the regulation.
Reporter: What specific regulations are you seeking?
Jaume Callboni: Barcelona has the advantage that the legislation in the State and in Catalonia allows us to have instruments. It is about sending a message, and it is related to Casa Orsola, to discourage speculation, that buying buildings for economic activity will no longer be a business. Tell them that in Barcelona we are changing the rules of the game so that real estate speculation is not a business, but we have a crisis of access to housing which is the main problem of the city.
Reporter: A regulation like the Amsterdam formula, which only allows people to buy a home to live in. What do you think about it?
Jaume Callboni: Entering the buying and selling business is a field that we have not explored in Spain or Catalonia. I think that we need to explore the uses of housing and rentals much more.
Reporter: What do investors say when you tell them that property speculation will no longer be a business in Barcelona?
Jaume Callboni: There have already been reports that indicate that these types of investments will not be made. When we speak with the private sector, because we have to count on them to build housing, we explain the rules to them. When the intervention is criticized, we have to see where the previous model has taken us.
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