The residents of Bloc Sepúlveda, at number 83 Sepúlveda street, in Barcelona's Eixample, demand from the property owner the renewal of their rental contracts before any operation on the building. The demand comes after the information published in several media about a possible sale of the 13 properties that Vandor Real State Socimi has in the city.
The residents consider it a "small victory" that this possible operation has come to light and attribute this situation to the collective work they have maintained in recent months. Their main demand is to safeguard the continuity of those who continue to live on the property, regardless of who may end up controlling the building.
"We demand the immediate renewal of all contracts to guarantee that residents can stay in their homes regardless of who buys the block" - Rebeca Pérez, spokesperson for the Eixample section of the Socialist Housing Union of Catalonia
The property denies the sale of the building
Vandor denies wanting to sell the Sepúlveda estate or any of the other 12 properties it owns in Barcelona. The company maintains that it is exploring options to move towards "a new phase of growth" and that it is analyzing offers to continue with its business strategy.
The society also rejects that this movement is motivated or accelerated by recent regulatory changes. It defends that it acts from respect for legality, with a will for dialogue and attending to each personal situation. In that framework, it assures that it is willing to negotiate, although it proposes a direct and individual interlocution with each tenant.
The firm, specialized in room rental and coliving, maintains that its business model, focused on temporary housing for students and young professionals, is part of the housing solution by offering a residential alternative.
The neighbors reject a floor-by-floor negotiation
The residents' position clashes with that approach. According to them, after the information about the possible sale became known, the property has refused to negotiate a collective exit for the entire block. The union denounces that individual extensions of one year or, at most, two years have been proposed.
Always according to this organization, no resident has signed any of those extensions, although they have been negotiated. The tenants consider that this format does not resolve their underlying situation and maintains uncertainty about their permanence in the building.
"We want to make it clear that we will continue to organize collectively because it will be the way to stay in our home" - Erika, resident of the building
Erika, who has been living on the estate for more than 20 years, maintains that those extensions would only be a provisional response and not a definitive solution for those who continue residing in the property.
A block with 28 floors and works in empty homes
Vandor bought the block on Sepúlveda street in November 2025. The property has 28 flats and currently 16 residents remain. In part of the 12 empty flats, works have already begun with the intention of allocating them for room rental.
The union frames that transformation in a change of model of use of the property and links it with greater profitability. Rebeca Pérez maintains that from an apartment rented to a family from the neighborhood the property obtains €1,100, while with the rental of rooms it can earn triple.
With this open scenario, the residents insist that they will not accept temporary solutions nor isolated negotiations and maintain the demand to renew all contracts to ensure their continuity in the Sepúlveda Block.