Dozens of people have barricaded themselves this Wednesday at the entrance of number 60 on Buenos Aires street, in Barcelona, to prevent the eviction of Olalla, a resident with three minor children who has lived in the building for nine years. A judge has ordered the eviction for the second time at the request of the property owner, New Amsterdam Developers, and has commissioned its execution to the Mossos d'Esquadra as judicial police.
The tension of the case lies in the destination the property owner attributes to the apartment. While Olalla has proven vulnerability and has gone months without paying rent due to prolonged economic problems, the company has requested to repossess the home to rent it out by the room. On the company's Idealista profile, New Nomad, there are at least three listings at that same number 60 with prices between 950 and 980 euros per month.
Neighbor pressure already stopped a first eviction attempt
Last week, there was already an eviction attempt at the building, but the neighborhood mobilization managed to stop it. Now, the court has reactivated the eviction, and the concentration has been repeated since early morning in front of the building's entrance.
The property owner has its headquarters in that same building. The request sent to the courts also includes the intervention of the BRIMO to guarantee access for the judicial delegation and execute the eviction.
The conflict fits into a broader pressure on room rentals in the Catalan capital, where renting a room already absorbs more than half of a young person's salary in the city.
The union claims the property owner empties apartments to divide them
The Sindicat de l'Habitatge frames Olalla's case within a broader strategy within the building. The collective assures that the property owner seeks to repossess homes occupied by long-term tenants to reorganize them and offer them by the room.
"The same as with the others: empty them of residents, divide them into rooms, offer them on real estate portals, and multiply the rent price. In short, to do business with the right to housing" - Sindicat de l'Habitatge
The operation described by the union connects with other recent conflicts over evictions in the city, such as an eviction in Raval linked to the subsequent destination of the apartments.
Olalla has lived at number 60 Buenos Aires street for nine years and lives there with three minor children. The listings located on the New Nomad profile offer at least three rooms in that same building for prices between 950 and 980 euros per month.