The Government has imposed the first 13 fines for alleged non-compliance with the housing law in Catalonia, one year after the entry into force of the sanctioning regime agreed with Jéssica Albiach's group. The sanctions mainly affect legal entities, especially real estate companies, and amount to a total of 120,000 euros
Fines and open files in Barcelona, Girona and Tarragona
Of the 13 sanctioning files, seven have been processed by the Catalan Consumer Agency and six by the Catalan Housing Agency. The sanctions are divided between serious and minor infractions. Two of the highest fines, managed by the Consumer Agency, amount to 27,000 euros for allegedly increasing rent prices without justification and for acting as a property administrator without being registered. Furthermore, a serious sanction is being finalized for not including the rental reference index and the energy efficiency label, with a fine that could reach 25,000 eurosIn the area of minor infractions, four sanctions from Consum have been imposed for not reporting the mandatory price index in tense areas. One of them, for 1,750 euros, has already been paid. The other three could reach 10,000 euros each. Regarding the files managed by the Agència d'Habitatge, two sanctions of 30,000 euros, two of 3,000 euros, and another two files pending quantification are being processed
More than a hundred pending files
The Government currently has more than one hundred additional files open for possible housing law violations. Of these, 55 correspond to the Housing area and 77 to the Consumer area. According to the Comuns, the pending sanctions could reach half a million euros if the violations are confirmed
Political pressure and budget negotiation
The leader of the Comuns, Jéssica Albiach, has linked the budget negotiation to the current situation in Catalonia and has pointed out the need to address the railway chaos and the management of key areas such as Rodalies, Housing, and Ecological Transition.
"We will sit down to negotiate the budgets aware that Catalonia is subjected to railway chaos" - Jéssica Albiach, Comuns
Albiach has added that they will not demand political responsibilities until the crisis is over and has questioned the accumulation of powers in the minister Paneque. The Comuns have requested to double the allocation of the neighborhood law, going from 200 to 400 million annually, and have announced that they will push to introduce more measures regarding housing and to limit speculative buying
Education and budgetary calendar
In the educational field, Comuns have reported the reinforcement of inclusive schooling with more than 200 new teaching staff and more than 350 educational support professionals. Canteens in high-complexity institutes have also been recovered and the Educational Environment Plans have been reinforced to promote Catalan, English, and mathematics reinforcement courses. However, Albiach has warned that the implementation of these reinforcements is uneven
"The reinforcement of courses is being carried out unevenly" - Jéssica Albiach, Comuns
The Government maintains the objective of approving the budgets in the Parliament during the first quarter of the year. The Minister of Economy, Alícia Romero, met this Tuesday with the Comuns to take stock of the agreements and open budget negotiations next week. ERC hopes to unblock the collection of personal income tax within the new financing model, pending a decision from the central government. The Government insists that the setbacks have not altered the intention for the budgets to come into effect before April