Barcelona is facing a worsening homelessness crisis, with new data showing that 72% of people living on the city’s streets do not believe they will ever secure stable housing. The finding, from a Fundació Arrels survey, points to entrenched homelessness and growing barriers to leaving the street.
Arrels’ street count, reported on 10 December 2025, found nearly 2,000 people sleeping rough in Barcelona, a 43% increase since 2023. That figure counts people sleeping outdoors, not everyone experiencing homelessness, which also includes people living in shelters or temporary accommodation, as well as those in unstable housing. Most people counted were men, and many were aged 36 to 56. The survey reports that the average age had fallen from 45 to 42, reflecting an increase in younger people affected even as older residents remain in prolonged precariousness.
Foreign nationals account for nearly 72% of the city’s homeless population, compared with averages of about 54% in Catalonia and Spain. Many are from outside the European Union, a trend Arrels partly links to Barcelona’s role as a global city. Economic hardship was cited by 51% of respondents as the basic reason for migration; 14% said they had left their countries because of conflict and 1.6% because of sexual discrimination. The survey also found that 1.2% of those sleeping on the street were trans women and 1.3% did not identify with any gender.
The basic reported triggers for homelessness were loss of housing (18%) and job loss (16%). Among those who had to leave their homes, 26.8% had been renting and 17.7% had been staying with friends or family. Rising rents and a shortage of affordable housing add pressure: people can be employed and still unable to afford a whole rental home or even a room. More than a third of respondents said this was not their first experience of homelessness.
The street count is part of a wider housing crisis. The Generalitat de Catalunya has estimated that around 8,000 people are homeless across Catalonia, with more than half in Barcelona. This broader estimate covers forms of homelessness beyond sleeping outdoors and is not directly comparable with Arrels’ street count. Rising rents and limited affordable housing, alongside constrained shelter capacity, are among the pressures contributing to the crisis. Time-limited stays in reception services can also leave people without a durable place to live when support ends.
Arrels has also reported the risks people face while sleeping outdoors: in 2025, 83.3% said they had experienced some form of aggression. Six in ten reported humiliation or verbal abuse, including insults and threats, while nearly half reported physical attacks. About one-third said they had been barred from some establishments. These experiences compound the difficulty of accessing rest and basic services. Arrels has described people who died while homeless as neighbors whose rights had been violated, including their right to life and remembrance.
Income remains a major obstacle. Three out of four people surveyed had no regular means of meeting basic needs such as food, and only 5% received steady income from benefits or employment. Exposure to harsh weather adds to the risks. Arrels’ demand for help extends beyond the street-count total: its director, Rosa Majoral, said the organization had assisted 1,105 people by September, including at least 779 people experiencing homelessness and 134 living on the street. Its day centre received an average of 60 people a day. Majoral described an “avalanche of requests for help” and said the organization had moved from turning away people seeking placements because of capacity constraints to progressively providing access to services.
Barcelona’s response combines specialist social support with housing-based programmes. The city’s Homelessness Advice and Social Support Service (SOASS) assists people, including individuals and family or household groups, facing social vulnerability and housing instability. Its “Primer la llar” programme uses a Housing First approach, placing people in stable housing before requiring them to complete treatment or meet other conditions, with support provided afterward. Arrels is also calling for stronger early intervention, progress on stalled legislation in the Catalan Parliament and a network of stable accommodation options. Its director, Bea Fernández, has emphasized that homelessness affects people at every stage of life and has no single profile or solution.
Research by Esade into vulnerable single-parent mothers in Barcelona and the metropolitan area illustrates why temporary support may not lead to lasting housing. Based on interviews with 48 women, the study found that a shortage of affordable homes can block exits from social-inclusion programmes when there is no effective route from supported housing to a durable residence.
Housing insecurity in Barcelona has also intersected with other urban challenges in recent years. The city has faced emergencies such as the evacuation of buildings due to infrastructure failures, including when residents were forced to leave their homes following a major sinkhole in the Putxet district. Such incidents point to the pressures surrounding housing and the vulnerability of people without stable shelter.
Homelessness in Spain is a complex and persistent problem, with Barcelona often at the center of debates on social policy and urban management. The city’s experience reflects wider European pressures, including rising housing costs and labor-market instability. Municipal services and social organizations provide emergency assistance and longer-term support, but the latest figures underline the scale of the challenge: without more routes into stable, affordable housing, homelessness in Barcelona risks becoming even more entrenched.
