Ada Colau: the future minister behind the latest housing nail biter in Spain

housing. As a result, the volume of building permits issued fell by 40%. That is, fewer apartments built and therefore less supply, which in turn led to even higher prices. According to the Catalan College of Architects (COAC), the number of permits for new construction in 2022 was 1,454, 38% less than in 2019, before the pandemic.

About 4,300 social housing units are currently planned in Barcelona, half of which are already under construction, with the other half due to start in 2024. In Madrid, meanwhile, more than 8,000 dwellings are currently under construction, twice as many that do not require an attack on developers: 1,500 from the Social Agency''housing, 4,200 under the Vive plan and about 2,400 already allocated under the same plan.

More expensive to rent

Colau also promised to lower costs and make it easier to rent, but its failure to achieve this goal has been disastrous. The number of affordable apartments for rent in Barcelona has fallen by more than 50% over the last legislation. And that, along with rising demand, has driven up rental prices.

Specifically, the supply of homes for rent has fallen by 51% over the last four years, comparing availability data for the first quarter of 2019 with data for the same period in 2023, according to a study published by Idealista. This decline is significantly higher than the average for the rest of Spain, which is 28%. Only Cuenca (-59%) surpasses''Barcelona in this indicator.

The average rent in Barcelona has already reached 20 euros per square meter per month, after rising 18% in the last year, according to the latest data from Idealista, published last September.

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This is the third highest price increase in Spain after Valencia and Alicante. Since Colau took over as mayor in 2015, average rents in Barcelona have risen by more than 50%.

In addition, the price cap, which was introduced in Catalonia from 2020 to 2022 with the enthusiastic support of Colau, has particularly affected vulnerable groups. Thus, according to a study conducted by Esade, price controls have led to a reduction in rental supply of around 10%. And housing aimed at low-income people has risen in price by almost''13% in restricted neighborhoods, while the rest of the neighborhoods saw prices rise by only 7%. Interestingly, those on higher incomes benefited the most from these controls, as prices for the most expensive homes fell by 5% on average.

A paradise for "occupiers "

And all this without taking into account that Barcelona is a paradise for "occupiers". According to the latest figures from the Ministry of Interior, Catalonia is the leader in the number of national-level "occupations", with more than 1,600 cases, representing 40% of the country's total. And most "occupations," more than 90%, take place in Barcelona.

Therefore, Colau has had one of the worst real estate results in Spain. Less supply of apartments, much higher''rents, more difficulties in accessing rents, especially for people on low incomes, and serious safety and security concerns due to the large number of "occupiers."' But it seems that all this matters little or nothing, because despite all this, Colau is the candidate with the best chance of being appointed housing minister in the new Sanchez government.