Barcelona’s housing crisis has reached a breaking point. Junts per Catalunya’s vote against two emergency housing decrees has angered supporters already squeezed by rising rents. The party threatened to oppose the measures unless the government withdrew and redrafted them, citing concerns that they could reduce the supply of available housing, Reuters reported.
Carles Puigdemont is returning from nine years in Belgium and plans to tour Catalonia to reconnect with voters. Loyalist towns may greet him with cheers; elsewhere, the mood is colder. His real test will come among Catalans who have watched their paychecks shrink and their right to a home slip away. Many once backed Junts. Now they face the same housing crisis as everyone else.
The Generalitat’s 2025 survey shows that 91% of Catalans say finding a decent home is hard or very hard. Among Junts voters, 88% say it is nearly impossible. Even the party’s own base feels the strain.
Who gets the blame? More than half of Junts sympathizers, 54%, point to people profiting from housing. Another 56% blame tourist apartments for pushing up prices, while only 37% fault wealthy foreigners. Their frustration is aimed at those making money from the crisis.
Last night, chants of "shame" echoed through Plaça de Catalunya. Junts supporters joined political opponents in the crowd. They see party leaders siding with real estate interests and leaving ordinary voters exposed.
EFE and Reuters reported that the most controversial provisions in the rejected decrees were the automatic extension of rental contracts and a requirement for landlords to justify non-renewal. Property owners and market lobbyists strongly opposed the measures. Junts argued that broad application could discourage private landlords and shrink the overall housing supply. Instead, it pushed for a version targeting large investment funds and offering tax incentives to small owners.
Catalonia stands alone in Spain as the only region fully applying the national housing law. Many of the rejected measures are already in place there. Investment funds are leaving as profits fall, while rent caps are holding prices steady. Tenant contracts are more secure, and the old incentives for landlords to churn tenants are fading. The system is not perfect, but it is more stable now.
Junts seems to be betting that blocking Sánchez’s government could force early elections or slow the rise of the far-right Aliança Catalana. In pursuing political advantage, but, the party has lost touch with its own voters. As reported earlier, the housing crisis has moved beyond a policy debate; it is a daily fight for millions, including Junts’ base.
Survey figures and anger on the streets point to a party putting strategy before substance, as daily struggles leave its supporters feeling stranded. They see political games and economic deals while the right to a home slips away across Catalonia. For those who feel left behind, politics offers little comfort.
