On February 29, 2024, the Government imposed 49 sanctions on 28 large property owners for not offering social housing to individuals and families at risk of residential exclusion in Vallès Occidental. This was done through the Catalan Consumer Agency, with a total amount of 1,209,000 euros. In Sant Cugat, 2 of these cases have resulted in sanctions.
These figures are taken from the balance of the first year of the Reinforcement Program to ensure compliance with the obligations set out in Law 1/2022 of March 3, amending Laws 18/2007, 24/2015, and 4/2016 to address the housing emergency.
The implementation of this Program by the Government in January 2023 allowed for the hiring of 19 professionals in the services of the Catalan Consumer Agency, leading to a significant increase in the Agency’s activity in this area.
In Vallès Occidental, after the lifting of the temporary suspension of Article 5 of Law 24/2015 on measures to address the housing emergency, the Consumer Agency has dealt with 248 open cases for failing to comply with the legal obligation to offer social housing. So far, 49 of these cases have been resolved with serious sanctions, with fines of up to 30,000 euros per case. Sabadell, Terrassa, and Rubí are the municipalities with the highest number of open cases for possible non-compliance with the regulations, with 66, 64, and 29 cases respectively.
Regarding the overall activity in Catalonia, since the implementation of the Reinforcement Program, the Agency has carried out 1,609 inspection actions, representing a 779% increase compared to the total inspections conducted from 2020 (183). With regard to sanctioning proceedings, the Agency has opened 1,087 cases, a 600% increase from the period between 2020 and 2022 (155), and has resolved 168 cases with sanctions, a 115% increase compared to those resolved before the implementation of the Reinforcement Program (78).
Overall, the Agency has opened a total of 1,242 cases against real estate companies that are large property owners for failing to offer social housing. During the inspection process, violations were found for not documenting the offer of social housing to vulnerable individuals or families before initiating the eviction process. Additionally, the Agency found that 2 large property owners accounted for nearly 52% of all cases opened for possible violations of the regulations.
Of the sanctioning cases opened, 246 have already been resolved with sanctions for practices that exclude or limit consumer rights, a serious offense under the Catalan Consumer Code Law, with fines of up to 30,000 euros per case. In total, the Agency has sanctioned 79 large property owners, with 27 having more than one sanctioning case, and 2 companies accounting for 44% of all cases resolved with sanctions.
Since May 2023, considering that some companies have a significant number of cases, the Agency has included an additional penalty of publicity in all sanctioning cases related to the obligation to offer social housing. This allows for the dissemination of the fine once it becomes final – that is, once all possible appeals by the company have been resolved administratively. As of now, a total of 11 firm sanctions have been made public through the Official Gazette of the Generalitat to the following large property owners: BTL Spain Residential Acquisitions SL, Wind Luxemburg SARL, Cabot Assets Spain SLU, Claysburg SL, Cimentados3 SAU, Altamira Santander Real Estate SA, Matella SA, Iluro Pis Promotora Inmobiliaria SL, Unión de Crédito para la Financiación Mobiliaria e Inmobiliaria Credifimo Establecimiento Financiero de Crédito SA, Aiqon Capital España SL, and Coral Homes SL.
Furthermore, to reinforce the deterrent effect of this measure aimed at protecting the right to housing for individuals and families in vulnerable situations, the Agency has today revealed the names of the large property owners with the most open cases for presumed non-compliance with the obligation to offer social housing. These are: Divarian Propiedad, with 423 cases, and Promontoria Coliseum Real Estate, with 221. The rest include Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria, with 87 cases, Coral Homes, with 74, and Gramina Homes, SL, with 44.
The regulatory framework stipulates that individuals or legal entities considered large property owners must offer social housing before filing any foreclosure or eviction lawsuit – or before acquiring a property through a compensation agreement or deed in lieu of payment – when the household of a property is at risk of residential exclusion, according to the income level specified in Law 24/2015.
Moreover, Law 1/2022 of March 3 extends this protection to all occupants of properties without a legal enabling title, whether due to the expiration of their lease agreement, having undergone a mortgage debt collection process, or occupying a vacant property owned by a financial institution or investment fund.
Additionally, the current regulations require the inclusion of information on the reference index of rental housing prices in lease offers and contract content.