Barcelona’s city government has approved buying the whole building at Carrer d’Espalter 6, in the Raval neighbourhood of Ciutat Vella, using its right of pre-emption. The council took over an existing purchase offer at the same sale price, bringing eight homes into public ownership in an area with a tense housing market and few plots available for new construction.
What the city is buying
The building has eight homes and three commercial units. Seven of the homes have current rental contracts, two of them let through the council’s Rental Housing Pool. The one empty flat will be allocated by lottery through the Register of Applicants for Official Protected Housing of Barcelona (RSHPOB). Of the three commercial units, two are let and one is empty.
The money and the numbers
| Item | Figure |
|---|---|
| Floor area | 655 m² |
| Purchase price | €1.3 million |
| Cost with planned refurbishment | €2 million |
| Price per m² | €3,408.80 |
The council says the price per square metre is below the average market price and below the maximum threshold set by the pre-emption ordinance.
The rules behind the purchase
The purchase is made under the ordinance on pre-emption and first refusal, approved in December 2025 with votes in favour from BEC and ERC, an abstention from Junts and votes against from PP and VOX. Its aim is to expand the city’s public housing stock and gain new homes in dense areas with little available land. When deciding whether to buy, the council looks mainly at the suitability of the property, giving priority to buildings with more than 10 homes or with empty flats. It also considers buildings with tenants on contracts with compulsory extension, people with disabilities, people in vulnerable situations, and buildings in neighbourhoods most at risk of gentrification. For whole residential buildings, the maximum price cannot exceed the average price of registered sales in the neighbourhood, minus the estimated cost of any necessary refurbishment.
The council can also decline a purchase and pass the right, in order of priority, to public housing developers, to legal occupants of the building, and to private or non-profit developers and housing cooperatives. A purchase can also be made jointly with these beneficiaries, in which case the council must own at least one third of the property.
The wider plan
Earlier this year the city reported that 2,201 public homes had been handed over across Barcelona during the current term. Its goal is to end the term having delivered 3,000 keys and to reach a public stock of 15,000 homes in 2027.