The conflict over tenant evictions for coliving intensifies in Barcelona. In Barcelona, tenants are being evicted en masse to make way for coliving. Authorities and residents are responding to practices imported from the US. The company NAD has found itself at the center of the scandal and under inspector scrutiny.
A conflict is escalating in Barcelona between tenants and the company New Amsterdam Developments (NAD), which, according to EL PAÍS, is carrying out mass evictions of residents from affordable rental apartments to convert them into coliving spaces. This approach has provoked a sharp reaction from the Catalan government and the city hall, and has also led to numerous complaints from residents.
American experience on the Catalan market
The NAD model, as neighbors note, closely mirrors practices that one of the company's co-owners, Jeffrey Todd Kay, used in New York with Stone Street Properties. There, his business has already faced lawsuits over tenant harassment and financial violations. In Barcelona, the company operates less openly, but with the same result: apartments are vacated, divided into rooms, and rented out at prices significantly higher than before.
In one recent case, a resident of the Gràcia district, Thema Escorsa, was able to temporarily halt her eviction only thanks to intervention by the tenants' union. In another building, known as Casa Papallona in Eixample, activists fear for the fate of Mergui, who has lived there for more than 30 years and now also risks losing her home.
Response of authorities and tenants
The Catalan authorities have already opened hundreds of cases against companies violating rental limits, and NAD is among those under inspection. According to residents, inspectors have visited properties on Sant Agustí Street and at Casa Papallona. However, most cases have not yet resulted in fines. Tenants themselves complain of pressure: after eviction notices are sent out, noisy renovations begin in the buildings, maintenance deteriorates, and some residents are forced to leave their apartments.
The situation worsened after the Congress canceled the extension of rental contracts, leaving many people unprotected legally. As a result, according to local organizations, NAD and its associated structures, such as New Nomads, are actively offering rooms for up to 980 euros per month for short-term rentals.
Financial disputes and international connections
Kay’s business partner in Barcelona, Paul Petermayer, previously had no ties to real estate but managed to enter the city’s economic circles. Meanwhile, Kay himself is facing new lawsuits in the United States: he is accused of misappropriating investors' funds and failing to pay debts, while one financial company is seeking to recover nearly 13 million euros from him for defaulting on mortgage obligations.
In Barcelona, however, the main risk for NAD is not only pressure from the authorities, but also the activism of tenants and their associations, who have no intention of giving up. As EL PAÍS notes, the situation is reminiscent of recent conflicts between regional and central authorities, when local interests clash with external business practices. Such disputes have already attracted public attention, as was the case with the declaration of Madrid's independence amid the conflict with the central government.
Context and prospects
According to market data, NAD owns more than a hundred apartments and around twenty commercial premises in Barcelona. Despite inspections and protests, the company continues to expand its coliving segment, promising investors “high returns with minimal risk.” For tenants, this means rising prices and instability, and for the city—a new round in the struggle for affordable housing.
