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Barcelona debates how to curb rents that drive out local businesses
Regulation of commercial rents is coming before the Barcelona city council, with neighbourhood shops at the heart of the debate. PSC is proposing to call for legal changes to moderate rent increases, while ERC accuses the socialists of now taking up a proposal that the republicans have been advocating for years.
The initiative seeks to have the central Government and Congress reform the Urban Lease Act to allow some form of restraint in areas under strong property-market pressure. The aim would be to prevent viable businesses from having to close solely because they cannot afford a new rent.
Elisenda Alamany, ERC's president on the City Council, says her group has presented similar measures over the last three years. The party criticises the fact that until now the response was that regulation was unworkable and attributes the PSC's change of position to growing pressure from shopkeepers and residents.
The problem has become visible with the closure of historic establishments in different neighbourhoods. In Gràcia, cases such as Camps hardware store and the Santa Clara bakery have reopened the debate over rents that push out businesses with decades of activity.
According to data included in the municipal debate, 76% of people consulted support some form of regulation for premises. The concern is not limited to business owners: the loss of traditional shops changes the available services, the commercial landscape and daily life in each neighbourhood.
The PSC argues that the reform should focus on local, distinctive and emblematic shops. The intention is to prevent them from being replaced by chains, short-lived businesses or activities aimed solely at tourist areas.
The proposal, however, depends on a state-level amendment and does not yet specify how the limits would be set, which premises would be included or which areas could be considered under pressure. Those conditions will determine whether the measure has a real effect or remains a political statement.
The debate puts an urgent question on the table: who can keep opening every morning on Barcelona's streets. While the PSC and ERC discuss authorship of the initiative, shopkeepers are waiting for concrete tools before other historic businesses close their shutters.