Slimy businessmen and international Vulture Funds are buying up whole blocks of homes, getting rid of lifelong tenants and converting to luxury and tourist bonanzas. But the mutual aid networks (PAH and the ObraSocial) have caught on and a whole series of blocks are being occupied

The ‘Obra Social BCN’ makes public the occupation of the renamed ‘Bloc Llavors’ (Seeds Block)in Poble-sec

The Obra Social BCN has announced this morning the occupation of a new housing block at number 38 Carrer Lleida , in Poble-sec barrio.

The building is owned by the Finnish investment fund Vauras Investment SL. There are some neighbors still residing in the building with old contracts who would have undergone real estate harassment to leave

(note. the ‘Obra Social Barcelona’ is part of the local PAH groups (stands for People Affected by Mortgages) which is a countrywide network of autonomous assembly-run groups dedicated to defending and helping the hundreds of thousands of families evicted by the banks since the housing ‘speculation bubble’ collapsed.)

This building adds to other occupied vulture fund buildings that have become the spearhead of the struggle for housing in the city, such as the building number 37 of Leiva Street, La Janhela in Gràcia or The Block in La Bordeta.

This investment fund of Finnish origin, which manages super luxury housing throughout Catalonia, was also responsible for the eviction of La Profana, after acquiring the building at the promoter Catalonia Gebira SL. 100% of the company’s share capital is in the name of the company Barcelona Invest Oy, established in Luxembourg.

Their sales are all in the hands of buyers of the great European economic elites. Apart from luxury buildings and flats located mainly in Barcelona, ​​Maresme, Sitges and Eivissa, they also offer high end cars, private jets and yachts.

According to the Collective of Defense of the Right to Housing, Vauras was emptying the block of neighbors through “harassment and not renewing contracts”, a dynamic that is repeated in the neighborhood.

” Poble-sec barrio has lost more than 2,000 homes since 2010, some of these converted into hotels and tourist accommodation, and the rental price has increased by 20% in two years, reaching an average of 750 euros a Month for flats of 57 square meters, ” they say in the statement.

“Although I’m working today, I can not afford to pay for a rental,” explains one of the new occupiers in the Block in a video that has been made public today. Another of the new neighbors tells before the camera what was her situation before the occupation: “We lived in a situation of overcrowding, with a room shared by my daughter and me. My daughter must have a home that allows her to develop. … The fact of not having sufficient income to pay the rentals that the market raises does not mean that we do not have the right to live in a dignified way,” she concludes.

When entering the Vauras apartments, the neighbors found apartments with “luxury” finishes that made them think they were destined for the luxury tourism sector or large investments.

In this situation, the Obra Social demands that Vauras Investment SL ”not speculate more with our lives and the City Council of Barcelona acts against real estate speculation and offers legal alternatives significantly expanding public housing.”

armed police show off their latest battering device

ORIGINAL IN CATALAN

L’Obra Social BCN fa pública l’okupació del Bloc Llavors al Poble-sec