Residents and businesses in the Sant Gervasi-El Putxet area now have a dedicated office to seek compensation after a sinkhole linked to ongoing work on Metro Line 9 near the FGC El Putxet station. Sílvia Paneque, spokesperson and Minister of Territory for the Catalan government, announced the initiative as families and shop owners face losses and disruption after the incident on June 7. The collapse of a pizzeria’s interior patio exposed a cavity described as approximately eight metres in diameter and four metres deep. It prompted the evacuation of eight buildings containing 93 homes near Rubinstein and Teodora Lamadrid streets.
The regional government and Barcelona City Council have jointly established the office to process requests for financial advances and emergency assistance. Those advances will be deducted from final indemnities once the official investigation into the sinkhole’s causes is complete. Paneque said resources from the Contingency Fund have been mobilized for immediate support, with no fixed cap on the amount available for transfers. The office will handle claims from private individuals, including people forced to leave their homes, as well as local businesses that lost revenue because of closures.
For affected families, compensation will cover temporary accommodation and extra costs such as transport and food. Businesses will receive upfront payments against future compensation and access to soft loans through the Institut Català de Finances (ICF), which is expanding its emergency credit line to meet increased demand. The government says it will address necessary cases and provide relief to those not responsible for the disruption.
Paneque confirmed that the Consell Executiu has authorized the first transfers from the Contingency Fund to finance the advances. Residents have returned in stages as structural inspections and consolidation work continue. By October, authorities had cleared 69 of 87 evacuated homes for residents to return. That included 15 homes and one business at Teodora Lamadrid 5; 18 homes and seven businesses at Rubinstein 2 and 4 and Teodora Lamadrid 3 remained subject to further checks and remediation. The Ministry of Territory continues to monitor the situation with Infraestructures.cat.
Work beneath the affected buildings has continued alongside those assessments. The tunnel-boring machine, reported to weigh about 2,500 tonnes and operate roughly 40 metres underground, still had around 20 metres to travel. Crews have filled the cavity and sealed cracks, while also reinforcing the structure and increasing grout injections beneath the affected building. In late July, monitoring teams identified worsening cracks at Rubinstein 2 and a second, smaller cavity. Those findings reinforced the need for continued inspections before authorities approve further returns.
The emergency payments are part of a wider accountability process. A group of affected residents and businesses, represented by lawyer Carmen Pérez, have pursued administrative claims against the Generalitat de Catalunya and Barcelona City Council for material and economic damages. Their claims also include moral damages. The reported legal argument invokes “culpa in vigilando,” or an alleged failure to exercise adequate supervision. The claims do not establish liability, and no court had ruled on their merits. Authorities have forecast that the final households could return in early 2027, subject to completed inspections and necessary consolidation work.
The response comes amid debates in Catalonia over public funding and emergency management. Recent disputes over regional budget allocations have highlighted the challenge of balancing urgent local needs with broader fiscal policy, including discussions about Catalonia’s financial planning for the coming years. The approach to the L9 sinkhole prioritizes immediate assistance while longer-term assessments continue. That trend also features in recent coverage of Catalonia’s developing budget strategies.
The L9 sinkhole has displaced residents and affected commercial premises, while returns depend on safety assessments and repair work. Authorities have linked the incident to construction near El Putxet and continue monitoring and structural remediation as residents and businesses seek to return. The compensation office is intended to cover urgent costs while the investigation and claims process continue.
