Residents of two apartment buildings in Barcelona have filed formal complaints against property owners. They allege the burgeoning ‘coliving’ model is a scheme to circumvent the region’s new rent control laws. Supported by tenants’ rights organisations, this action targets investment funds accused of converting traditional flats into high-priced, room-by-room rentals in popular Gràcia and Eixample districts.
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On Wednesday, tenants lodged the complaints with the Housing Agency of Catalonia and the Catalan Consumer Agency. They focus on alleged practices at a building on Carrer de Sant Agustí, 14 in Gràcia and the historic Casa Fajol, known locally as the ‘Bloc Papallona’, on Carrer de Llança, 20 in Eixample. This action highlights a new flashpoint in the city’s housing crisis, as real estate investment funds face growing criticism for their impact on local communities.
A ‘Backdoor’ to Evade Rent Caps?
The dispute centres on a new rent control law, which Catalonia implemented on 1 January this year. This regulation allows individual room rentals, but for flats under 150 square metres, the total of all room rents cannot exceed the official price index for the entire property.
The Sindicat de Llogateres (Tenants’ Union), which supports the residents, claims investment funds are deliberately flouting this rule. Union spokesperson Enric Aragonès stated, “The law is being broken,” explaining that while converting flats to room rentals was legal before the cap, charging sums exceeding the index price is no longer permissible.
The complaints detail 44 separate listings that allegedly violate regulations. New Amsterdam Developers (NAD), the investment fund owning both buildings, accounts for 13 of these, while 31 others link to firms promoting a similar business model. The Tenants’ Union claims NAD, which owns 12 city buildings, has systematically “pushed out tenants to renovate flats, often bypassing urban planning regulations, and then renting them out at luxury prices.”
Exorbitant Prices and Missing Information
The complaints highlight stark price disparities. For instance, NAD advertises a single room in the Sant Agustí building for €950 per month. In contrast, a long-term tenant in the same building currently pays €811 for an entire three-bedroom flat. Some targeted building rooms reach prices of €900 each.
The ‘Bloc Papallona’, a building already central to a high-profile dispute, has had families displaced to make way for similar luxury rentals. This practice forms part of a wider trend of coliving-related evictions that housing activists are fighting across the city.
Furthermore, residents allege that many online advertisements for these rooms deliberately omit mandatory information. This includes the official rental index price and whether the landlord qualifies as a ‘large holder’ (owning five or more urban properties), which carries additional legal obligations. Complainants argue this constitutes a calculated attempt to “hide from potential tenants the necessary information to defend their rights,” rather than a simple oversight.
Investment Funds Respond
Vandor Real Estate, another fund named in the complaints, responded to the allegations in a statement. The company insisted that it respects and mutually agrees upon its contracts with tenants. It also argued that its prices are not comparable to traditional rentals, as its coliving model offers a different product.
Vandor stated its rates include fully equipped accommodation, cleaning services, and personalised attention, positioning its model as a “necessary residential alternative” for students and young professionals.
The complaints come as housing organisations prepare for a major protest on 28 February in Plaça Sant Jaume. Mobilising under the slogan ‘Prou excuses, els pisos, per viure-hi!’ (‘Enough excuses, the flats are for living in!’), the demonstration will unite the Tenants’ Union, the Socialist Housing Union, and other activist groups to demand stronger protections for affordable housing.
