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Barcelona’s Town Hall Reserves Right of First Refusal over 47 Buildings in Raval
12 December 2017 – Eje Prime
Ada Colau’s Government may make a new move in its commitment to social housing. The Town Hall of Barcelona has reserved the right to purchase 47 buildings in the Raval neighbourhood, where the acquisition and subsequent renovation of properties for social purposes is being proposed.
The objective of the Town Hall is to protect residents from losing their homes, either due to the poor condition of the properties in the area or problem with drug dens, as well as to boost activities relating to social housing policies, according to a report from Idealista.
The streets where this right of first refusal has been granted are Sant Ramon, Espalter and Robador. The intervention by the Town Hall in this regard started at the beginning of 2017 when the Town Hall of Barcelona approved the Catalan capital’s right of first refusal over entire plots and buildings. As such, the Town Hall has priority over the purchase of these assets before the owner is allowed to sell them to a third party.
To date, the Town Hall of Barcelona owns twelve blocks in the Raval neighbourhood, containing around 150 homes in total.
Original story: Eje Prime
Translation: Carmel Drake