The rent strike called for by the demonstration against the excessive price of housing a few months ago is starting to become a reality in some communities in Catalonia. This is explained by the Sindicat de Llogateres, which on Wednesday announced the start of the first “rent strike” in Catalonia.
This is the protest that several tenants of subsidized housing developments managed by InmoCaixa in Salou and Sentmenat have started. According to the union, the affected neighbors have voted in assemblies and have decided to stop paying monthly payments in response to what they consider abuses by the management company.
We tell you the details of the two cases of “rent strike” that are underway.
Salou, 26 families stop paying
In Salou 26 families, representing 70% of the residents of a subsidized housing estate, have already stopped paying rent for the last two months. The objective is to recover what they consider an unfair overcharge derived from the collection of the Real Estate Tax (IBI) by InmoCaixa.
The Sindicat de Llogateres reminds that the IBI charge on subsidized housing has been declared illegal by the Supreme Court, which would support the families’ action. The families have announced that until the company does not return the amounts collected, they will continue to withhold payments.
Sentmenat, without payment as of March 2025.
Two subsidized housing developments in Sentmenat, a municipality in Vallés Occidental near Sabadell, have also announced that they will join the rent strike as of March 2025.
The neighbors are demanding the extension of expired contracts, the withdrawal of judicial eviction processes, and the elimination of abusive clauses and overpricing in order to recover the original rental conditions. As the Sindicat explains, the protest comes after years of what the neighbors describe as “real estate harassment” by the management company, with high prices and lack of maintenance in the properties.
The unpaid rent money will be deposited in a joint account and will not be transferred to the owner, InmoCaixa, until their demands are met.
The Sindicat de Llogateres’ position
From the Sindicat they explain that these housing developments managed by private developers are part of the Govern’s housing plan to tackle the housing crisis, but that, on the other hand, these do not address the problems faced by many social housing tenants.
Earlier this month the Sindicat de Llogateres approved “moving towards a rent strike”, taking concrete actions to make this possible. Now, they say they will seek to expand on the Salou and Sentmenat cases to create a precedent that could inspire more communities in conflict situations with their landlords.
The 1931 precedent
In 1931 Barcelona already carried out a rent strike in which more than 100,000 neighbors organized themselves not to pay the rent. We tell you the whole story in this article.
Now the Sindicat de Llogateres has launched the “Brigades Llogateres”, action groups that seek to promote the idea of the rent strike in blocks where they are suffering abuses by the owners of the apartments. If you want information, just go to the Sindicat’s website.