> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://housing-base.journalismarena.eu/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://housing-base.journalismarena.eu/empty-homes/media-reports/barcelonas-latest-affordable-housing-tool-seize-empty-apartments-bloomberg-16-july-2020.md).

# Barcelona’s Latest Affordable Housing Tool: Seize Empty Apartments (Bloomberg, 16 July 2020)

* **Barcelona’s Latest Affordable Housing Tool: Seize Empty Apartments**
* By Fergus O'Sullivan. Published in Bloomberg CityLab on 16 July 2020
* <https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-07-16/to-fill-vacant-units-barcelona-seizes-apartments>
* **Summary**:
  * This week, the city’s housing department wrote to 14 companies that collectively own [194 empty apartments](https://www.elperiodico.com/es/barcelona/20200713/barcelona-amenaza-con-expropiar-194-pisos-vacios-si-no-se-ponen-en-alquiler-8038333), warning that if they haven’t found a tenant within the next month, the city could take possession of these properties, with compensation at half their market value.
  * These units would then be rented out by the city as public housing to lower-income tenants, while the companies in question could also face possible fines of between €90,000 and €900,000 ($103,000 and $1,003,000), according to Spanish news outlets.&#x20;
  * The plan builds on previous measures in the city to fill empty apartments. Since 2016, it has been legal for municipalities in the Catalonia region, which includes Barcelona, to [take control of properties](https://www.barcelona.cat/internationalwelcome/en/noticia/expropriation-and-social-use-of-empty-bank-owned-flats-to-resume_640261) that have been left without tenants for more than two years. The cities can then rent them as affordable housing for a period of between four and ten years before returning them to their owner’s control.
  * This measure, however, has only ever been used in[ a few cases](https://www.lavanguardia.com/local/barcelona/20200714/482307954875/barcelona-amenaza-expropiar-pisos-vacios.html), and still requires the city to return the properties. Now, using a legal tool approved by the Catalonia region in [December 2019](http://noticias.juridicas.com/base_datos/CCAA/656733-dl-17-2019-de-23-dic-ca-cataluna-medidas-urgentes-para-mejorar-el-acceso.html), Barcelona will have expanded power to actually buy the apartments outright by compulsory purchase, at 50% of market rate.
* **Keywords**: Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, empty homes, rental market, public housing, census, big landlords, regulation, fines, law