Veí a Veí: fair housing in Barcelona

Vote expected on 12 November: Spain's parliament decides on the housing decrees. Owners' groups say many owners are holding flats back until then. Call their bluff. Don't be bullied into submission. Don't be the lever.

What to do now

Barcelona's homes are being turned into fake “holiday” rentals, and newcomers get the blame. Newcomers and locals, owners and agents: this is what each of us can do, together. Fem pinya is Catalan for standing together, like the crowd at the base of a castell that holds the whole human tower up.

What can I do?Know your rights

This shortage is being made.

The homes exist. They're being relabelled as “holiday” rentals and held back to pressure a vote. That isn't bad luck or a law of nature. It's a choice, and choices can be undone.

72%of Barcelona's rental listings were “temporary” in March 2026: 1,908 temporary flats against 737 long-term.Source: OCU
+62%new temporary contracts in a single year after the rent cap arrived.Source: Ara
4,235homes pulled from long-term rental in ten days after the October decrees, in a survey of Spanish estate agencies.Source: Público
0fines for empty homes in the three years after the Generalitat gained the power.Source: Ara

Owners' associations say it openly: many owners won't put flats back on the long-term market until parliament votes. Experts call it a bluff. Source: Público

See how it was made

Who are you? Start here.

Four doors, one city. Each page shows what you can do and how to connect with the others.

I'm new here and looking for a homeYour “holiday” lease may not hold up. Know your rights, stay lawfully and find your neighbours.Start here I was born here, or I've lived here for yearsYour neighbour is not your enemy. Barcelona has won this fight before, street by street. We need you now.Start here I own a flat I could rentEvery home is a choice. Rent fairly and safely, with public guarantees, and be counted.Start here I work as a property agentYour signature is on every lease. Be the agent this city trusts.Start here

Same city. Same rights. Same fight.

Locals are losing their homes. Newcomers are losing money and rights. The same few profit from both. We refuse to compete for what is left. We choose to stand together.

L'habitatge no és un negoci, és un dret.

“Housing is not a business, it's a right.”

Heard at the march of 23 November 2024, under the banner “S'ha acabat. Abaixem els lloguers” (“Enough. Bring rents down”), when tens of thousands of people rattled their house keys through the streets of Barcelona. Source

Be counted.

Every signature shows up the moment it's made. Locals and newcomers, owners and agents: let the city see how many we are.

This is our home. We will not sign that we are tourists. We will not be used against our neighbours.

The live count appears when the site goes live.

Take to the street. Bring your keys.

On 23 November 2024, Barcelona filled with people rattling their house keys. It's time to go back, newcomers and locals, shoulder to shoulder. Sign up and we'll tell you about every march, assembly and action in your neighbourhood.

Key dates

11 NovGeneral strike called under the slogan “wages, housing, prices”. Source
12 NovExpected vote on Spain's housing decrees. The legal deadline is the 13th. Source
29 NovGeneral election. Ask every candidate what they will do about fake temporary leases. Source

Local? Become a neighbour guide

Tell me when we take to the street

A city people can afford is a city that thrives.

In Barcelona province, the average rent now takes about three quarters of an average gross salary. Every euro that stops going to unfair rent goes back into the neighbourhood: the bakery, the bookshop, the school, a new business. Fair housing builds a middle class that stays. Source: Euronews

Read the case for a thriving city

Print it. Post it. Share it.

Free to copy and share. Not legal advice; every case is different.

PDF guideCracking the fake holiday leaseHow to stay lawfully, build your file, and what owners may not do.Poster: PDF and imageYour “holiday” lease may not be legalOne page to print, post and share.PDF guideOrganize your building and neighbourhoodFind your local group, welcome newcomers and act together.Images to postCards for Instagram and FacebookReady to post, including the pledge in six languages.Stickers to printStickers for expat spacesBlunt messages for the bars, coworkings and groups where expats gather.Poster: PDF and imageHow we got hereThe timeline on one page: who decided each step.

Also: the poster as an image (PNG)

Sources (9)

We will not be used against our neighbours.