Mayor Jaume Collboni stated at the 2026 Vanguardia Awards that "there will be no Maricarmen case in Barcelona." Data from the CGPJ shows that evictions in the city have increased by 6.1% in 2024 and 3.2% in 2025.
Evictions in Barcelona have seen two consecutive years of increases. In 2023, there were 1,255 evictions, which rose to 1,331 in 2024 (6.1% more) and to 1,373 in 2025, an additional 3.2%. These figures from the General Council of the Judiciary (CGPJ) contrast with the message that Mayor Jaume Collboni delivered at the 2026 Vanguardia Awards.
"There will be no Maricarmen case in Barcelona"
The phrase, spoken by the mayor during his speech, has been interpreted as an attempt to distance himself from the situation in Madrid. However, judicial statistics paint a less favourable picture for the Catalan capital when put into context.
The first contrast comes when comparing Barcelona with Madrid. In 2025, the Catalan city recorded 1,373 evictions, nearly the same as Madrid, which had 1,436. The difference is that Madrid has more than double the population: 3.5 million compared to 1.7 million. Adjusting for population, Barcelona has 79.3 evictions per 100,000 inhabitants, almost double the 40.9 in Madrid.
Recent trends also do not favour Barcelona. Between 2022 and 2025, evictions fell by 10.3% in the city, while in Madrid, the reduction was 29.5%. This means that the Spanish capital has progressed more quickly in addressing this issue.
The second major contrast is territorial. Catalonia accounted for 6,814 evictions in 2025, representing 26.6% of the total in Spain (25,540), despite making up around 16.5% of the Spanish population. The Catalan rate stands at 84 evictions per 100,000 inhabitants, which is 61% higher than the Spanish average of 52.
These numbers challenge the notion of a protective exceptionality regarding housing in Barcelona and Catalonia. The mayor himself used the case of Maricarmen, an 87-year-old woman, to exemplify what, according to him, would not happen in the city. However, the procedure in that case was related to the termination and substitution of an old rent contract, not a simple non-payment, a significant legal difference that is not reflected in the overall eviction statistics.
For the residents of Barcelona, the housing debate remains a daily concern. Figures from the CGPJ indicate that evictions due to unpaid rent or mortgage foreclosures continue to trend upwards in the city, directly affecting the residential stability of many households. The comparison with Madrid and the Spanish average suggests that the problem is not lesser in Barcelona, but rather, in relative terms, it is more intense.
The next report from the CGPJ, expected in mid-2026, will allow for an update of these figures and will help determine whether the upward trend continues or is corrected. Until then, the available data calls for caution before declaring the gap between Barcelona and Madrid in terms of evictions resolved.
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