Sant Joan de les Abadesses currently has 248 empty homes, which represents 12.3% of the municipality's residential stock, according to a study carried out by the City Council.
Vila Vella concentrates the majority of empty apartments
The municipal analysis identifies the Vila Vella as the area with the highest number of unoccupied homes. Of the 248 empty homes, 179 are privately owned and 69 are publicly owned. La Colònia Llaudet groups 60 of the empty public homes, managed by INCASÒL, while the old Civil Guard barracks, now municipally owned, adds another 9 units.
The report details that 65% of vacant homes have never had a certificate of occupancy and that 78% lack an energy efficiency certificate. In the case of private apartments, only 27 have a valid certificate of occupancy, representing 15.1% of the total. In 117 private homes, this document has never been requested. The number of vacant homes with an energy efficiency certificate is limited to 39.
Only a part of the empty apartments would be suitable for rent
During the workshops held with owners and professionals on November 13, 2025, it was estimated that only between 20% and 30% of vacant apartments would be in adequate condition to be rented. The main barriers identified for mobilizing these homes are the high rehabilitation costs in old buildings, the low rental profitability, situated between 1% and 2%, the fear of non-payment and conflicts, administrative complexity, and disagreements among co-owners.
Competition between tourist and residential housing in the Vila Vella
The study also points out the existence of 73 tourist use dwellings in the municipality, with about 258 places, most of them in the Vila Vella. The document warns that the coincidence of empty and tourist use dwellings in the same area can generate competition between tourist and residential use.
Municipal recommendations to mobilize the empty park
Among the report's proposals is the priority creation of a comprehensive municipal support service to advise owners on procedures, rehabilitation, and mediation. Additionally, the study proposes strengthening and expanding the regional Rental Exchange, incentivizing rehabilitation through specific municipal policies, activating measures for the regulation and control of vacant properties, and exploring formulas such as temporary assignment or urban sharecropping for the most complex cases.
- 248 empty homes in Sant Joan de les Abadesses, 12.3% of the residential stock
- La Vila Vella and Colònia Llaudet, main centers of unoccupied homes
- Only between 20% and 30% of the empty apartments would be in condition to be rented
- The City Council proposes new measures to facilitate the use of empty properties