Where tomatoes used to grow, now luxury rentals are growing. The Horts de la Maladeta, in Nou Barris, are now history. For more than a decade, this site in the Porta neighborhood was the symbol of the neighborhood struggle against speculation, a self-managed “green boulevard” to stop overcrowding.
Well, that neighborhood battle, which became the first citizens’ initiative in the history of the district, was lost. The machines entered in 2021 and today the developer Núñez y Navarro has already built its first block of apartments there.
From a neighborhood orchard to paying 2,100 euros in rent
The result has been a slap in the face of reality for the neighborhood, as explained in a Betevé report. The developer has put the first rents on the market, with prices ranging from 1,500 to 2,100 euros per month. Yes, in Nou Barris. A 90 m² apartment, as can be seen on real estate portals, is advertised for 2,118 euros.
The Sindicat d’Habitatge de Nou Barris has already put the cry in the sky, denouncing that these prices “are not within the possibilities” of the neighbors and that this only causes their expulsion from the neighborhood. The most surprising thing is that, despite the price, almost all the apartments advertised have already been rented.
What about the rent cap? The trick of new construction
The question everyone is asking is obvious: But how is this possible if Barcelona is a stressed area and rents are, in theory, capped? Here is the catch. As the Sindicat de Llogateres has denounced on several occasions, the law has holes. The price index that sets the cap has a key exception: it does not apply to newly built apartments (considered as such during the first five years).
Nor does it apply to seasonal rentals or very large homes. A legal loophole that allows that, where before there were orchards as a symbol of resistance, now there is a luxury development that few in the neighborhood will be able to afford.
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