Barcelona housing authorities have postponed the eviction of a 72-year-old widow and her dependent son for six days after police determined they lacked sufficient personnel to handle neighbourhood protests. Approximately seventy residents gathered outside the family’s home on Carrer de la Pau in Besòs on Wednesday morning, preventing the fourth attempted eviction since the Catalan Housing Agency acquired the property in 2019. Josefa, who cares for a son with severe alcoholism, has lived in the ground-floor apartment for nearly eight years after paying €3,000 for keys when the property belonged to Banco Santander. The family survives on her €1,000 widow’s pension and holds certified vulnerability status, yet the eviction process continues.
Your browser does not support the video tag.
The Eviction Situation
The Verneda-Besòs Housing Union alleges the regional government is evicting clearly vulnerable residents using outdated information. According to union representatives, the family’s situation has worsened since their initial vulnerability assessment. Meanwhile, Josefa has been excluded from Barcelona City Council’s emergency housing programme, the primary pathway to social housing access. The Housing Agency maintains that occupying public property disqualifies residents from alternative social housing, yet also prevents regularising their current living situation. This policy leaves vulnerable families without viable housing alternatives, as detailed in our previous coverage of housing investment demands.
Broader Housing Context
This case highlights growing tensions in Barcelona’s affordable housing crisis, where legal procedures often conflict with social protection needs. The six-day postponement merely delays rather than resolves the underlying issue, according to housing advocates who documented similar challenges during recent EU funding negotiations. Police confirmed they required additional resources to safely manage the protest, though the Catalan government’s housing department declined to comment on individual cases. Neighbours have pledged continued support until a permanent solution emerges.
The family now faces an October 21 eviction date without clear housing alternatives. Housing advocates urge authorities to reassess the case considering updated vulnerability certifications and the absence of emergency housing options. The situation reflects broader systemic challenges in Barcelona’s social housing allocation, where administrative procedures sometimes override humanitarian considerations.
Join our WhatsApp broadcast channel to get all of the news delivered to you
