Sirera criticises the purchase of the occupied building on Llenguadoc Street in Barcelona

The president of the municipal PP group in Barcelona demands to know how much it will cost to acquire the property at number 74 Llenguadoc Street, which has 20 homes and an eviction order affecting 18 of them. Sirera compares the operation to the purchase of Casa Orsola, which cost nearly ten million.

The Barcelona City Council and the Generalitat want to purchase the building at 74 Llenguadoc Street, in the Sant Andreu district, a property with 20 homes that is subject to a judicial eviction order affecting 18 flats. Several of them have been occupied since 2019, according to data from the Popular Party.

The president of the municipal PP group in the City Council, Daniel Sirera, has rejected the operation in a statement released this Thursday. For the popular leader, administrations cannot resolve every occupation conflict by purchasing properties with public money.

“Collboni and Illa cannot become a real estate agency for squatters and solve every conflict by buying buildings with everyone’s money”

Sirera has demanded to know the exact figure that would be allocated for the acquisition and has recalled the purchase of Casa Orsola, which, according to the PP, involved an expenditure of nearly ten million euros. The leader requests that the expected cost be detailed before committing new public resources.

The PP also demands explanations regarding the situation of the people living in the property. Sirera asks if there are official reports that certify their vulnerability, as, according to information attributed to the High Court of Justice of Catalonia (TSJC), there is no document of this nature.

“If there are vulnerable families, especially with minors, the administrations must attend to them and offer solutions. But first, each case must be studied, not buy a building in response to protests”

For the president of the popular group, the purchase of occupied properties cannot become the usual response to mobilisations by housing collectives. He argues that such decisions must be justified with objective criteria and the social needs of those affected.

Sirera has held previous municipal governments and the current one responsible for the housing situation in the city. “The left with Colau and Collboni has been governing Barcelona for over twelve years and now intends to solve with public money the problems they have failed to resolve,” he stated.

The popular leader also warns of a possible comparative grievance with those who have been waiting for protected housing for years. “Media pressure cannot be rewarded while thousands of families wait for public housing. Housing policy must respond to social and legal criteria, not to the campaigns of housing unions,” he concluded.

Thus, the PP demands that the Barcelona City Council and the Generalitat explain the cost of the operation and the criteria that justify it before taking the step. The purchase would affect a block in Sant Andreu with an eviction order pending on most of its homes.