UNAFFORDABLE HOUSING

Tourism & Gentrification

“housing shouldn’t be an investment asset, it should be a basic right”

Josep Maria Montaner, Barcelona City Council’s – Councillor for Housing, 11.2017

One of the major threats for Barcelona’s citizens’ right to housing is the pressure from tourism, which has led to many properties being used as tourist flats and are therefore unavailable to rent or purchase, causing prices to rise. 

The rents in Barcelona’s “Barrios” with more density of Tourist Accommodations are higher and increases the prices of the housing market. The public housing pool is in Barcelona insufficient. Only 2% of the total amount is in public hand. In Vienna, this percentage is nearly 50%.

With more affordable public housing, people who are excluded from the housing market can be helped and at the same time, it is a weapon against gentrification. But the biggest problem concerns Spain’s housing laws, which benefit investors in detriment to the rights of city residents. Strong tenant rights like in Vienna, higher secondary-residence-tax are two or limiting the tourism-economy could be Resolutions for Barcelona for a better-regulated housing-market in the future.

Source: Average monthly rent (€/month); Housing for tourist use in the city of Barcelona

UNAFFORDABLE HOUSING is a project of IaaC, Institute for Advanced Architecture of Catalonia
developed at Master in City & Technology; COMPUTATIONAL DESIGN in (2019/2020) by:
Student: Jochen Morandell
Faculties: Rodrigo Aguirre