Illa Siberia has 42 affordable rental homes on Badajoz Street in Poblenou, near Vila Olímpica. Pedro Sánchez visited the development during his Barcelona trip and met some of the people selected to live there.
The project stands on a former industrial site in Sant Martí. Barcelona City Council used a model in which a third party develops the buildings while the municipality retains the land. The arrangement grants a 75-year right of surface use.
After that period, the homes become part of Barcelona's municipal public housing stock. The land remains public.
The apartments range from roughly 61 to 72 square metres. Monthly rents run from about €429 to €502, plus utility costs.
Keys were handed over in July 2026. Sánchez could point to a completed project, rather than a promise tied only to future planning.
During the tour, Sánchez was joined by Generalitat president Salvador Illa and Government delegate in Catalunya Carlos Prieto. Barcelona mayor Jaume Collboni also attended. Sánchez visited one of the homes and met the successful applicants inside the blocks.
Sánchez said housing policy should put residential use ahead of tourism. He called for more affordable rental homes, too.
The Housing Law allows autonomous communities to declare stressed areas. In those areas, the law permits rent limits where the measure applies. There are currently 317 stressed municipalities across five autonomous communities.
Barcelona is one of them. Reported new rental prices in the city have fallen by 4.7% since it was declared a stressed area in 2024.
The dispute extends beyond Illa Siberia. An earlier housing report showed how the issue has become a central fight between the Government and the opposition. In Barcelona, the argument concerns home ownership and rent controls.
The national structure is expanding, too. The Government has allocated 7 billion euros to the State Housing Plan 2026-2030.
For the first time, the plan says homes financed with state funds cannot be declassified or privatised. The rule aims to keep publicly supported housing in the public system.
Casa 47 adds another tool. The new State Housing Entity will have 13 billion euros to help build a public housing stock equal to 8%.
The policy pairs more housing with rent rules and lasting public ownership. Illa Siberia puts that approach into practice.
The tour carried a political message. It showed the model Sánchez wants to defend: building affordable homes while keeping control of the land and housing created with public support.
The Government is also seeking support for a new housing decree in the Council of Ministers. Sánchez urged political parties to make a final effort to approve it. He tied the Barcelona presentation to the wider push for national housing measures as pressure over rents and evictions continued.
