Xavier García Albiol wants most cases of illegal property occupation to be handled outside the courts. The mayor of Badalona, whom Alberto Núñez Feijóo has tasked with leading the People’s Party (PP) proposal on squatting, favors police or administrative action that would allow owners to recover their properties within 48 hours. “If the solution still has to go through the courts, we won’t make any progress,” he says in an interview with idealista/news. The proposal builds on an earlier PP bill, though details remain unresolved, including how evictions would be carried out and how authorities would distinguish genuine hardship from fraud.
As mayor of Catalonia’s third-largest city, Albiol points to uncertainty among property owners, administrative hurdles and a shortage of land as factors making housing harder to access. He also questions Barcelona’s requirement to set aside 30% of new housing for subsidized homes and acknowledges that rising prices in the Catalan capital are benefiting Badalona by drawing in middle- and higher-income buyers. On squatting, he estimates that 70% of cases involve people who have made it a way of life, while acknowledging that he has no exact figures and bases the estimate on his experience.
In your experience as mayor of Badalona, how have the housing problems residents bring to you changed?
Several factors have made housing one of people’s biggest concerns. Small landlords tell me they feel a sense of uncertainty they didn’t feel before. Until recently, their concerns were about squatting and the difficulty of dealing with tenants who stopped paying rent quickly and effectively. Now there are the government’s decrees as well, which prolong that uncertainty for owners.
I also meet people who can’t find a place to rent, partly because the system is so slow. Someone who stops paying without a valid reason can stay in the property for a year or two before a court rules, usually through civil proceedings, because the courts are overwhelmed. That makes it harder for other people to find a rental. That’s the biggest concern I’m hearing.
How do you assess Spain’s housing market? Why is it getting harder to buy or rent?
Several factors are driving prices up. Land has become considerably more expensive because there’s so little room to build, especially in large cities. We have a supply problem.
Then there are decisions by public authorities, such as Barcelona’s requirement to set aside 30% for subsidized housing, which make some proposed developments unviable.
Another factor I consider decisive is how slowly applications are processed and how many administrative requirements developers have to meet before they can start building homes. Those hurdles are particularly acute in Catalonia. They can make a development financially unattractive or push prices through the roof.
To what extent are Barcelona’s housing affordability problems shifting demand to Badalona?
The steep rise in Barcelona’s housing prices is benefiting us. Some middle- and upper-middle-income people who are being priced out of Barcelona are looking for better-quality homes nearby.
We’re developing a new neighborhood around the Gorg Canal and the seafront promenade. Around 65% to 70% of people who have bought homes there have come from Barcelona, from abroad or from nearby cities. It’s bringing a new mix of residents to Badalona.
What can a mayor realistically do to make housing more accessible? What still needs to be done in Badalona?
There’s still a lot of work to do. Badalona City Council hadn’t built any subsidized housing in 20 years. We have up to seven developments planned, which will provide roughly 300 to 350 publicly developed homes for rent or sale.
Public authorities also bear some responsibility, especially at the regional and national levels. Current rules prevent us from freeing up land that we believe could be rezoned for housing fairly quickly. I think that will be one of the next Spanish government’s tasks, and I hope Feijóo leads that government.
Speaking of Feijóo, he’s asked you to lead the work on the anti-squatting bill. What’s already on the table?
We have a starting point. The PP parliamentary group introduced a bill in Congress a couple of years ago, and it’s been held up in the Congressional Bureau by the government’s majority. It’s a good basis for the work.
We need procedures and legal changes that allow us to act within 48 hours, before an illegal occupation becomes entrenched. We have to distinguish between people who kick down doors and squat as a way of life, or organized groups that do it, and people facing genuine hardship who are temporarily unable to pay their mortgage or rent. The goal is to get squatters out within 48 hours.
You’re promising evictions within 48 hours. When would the clock start, and what exactly would that deadline guarantee? A court decision, or the owner getting the keys back?
I think most cases can be handled without involving the courts. The response should come from the police, with all the necessary safeguards, or through an administrative procedure. But if the solution still has to go through the courts, we won’t make any progress.
Would there be a special unit for these evictions?
I honestly don’t know. We haven’t reached the stage where I can give you that level of detail.
You’ve also said that people who stop paying rent after losing their jobs should be protected. How would the law distinguish genuine hardship from fraud, and when would it keep an eviction on hold?
We haven’t worked that out yet, either, but we clearly need to look at the person’s circumstances and history. Situations like these usually come with reports from social services. Each case has to be assessed individually to distinguish between people who make a habit of claiming hardship and people who are genuinely vulnerable.
Public authorities should bear that social responsibility. We need a way for them to find a solution when someone can’t afford to pay, so the property owner doesn’t have to go without rent for a year or two.
You’ve invited Junts to submit proposals. Have you held talks or found any common ground?
No. I’ve invited anyone who wants to put forward a proposal to do so. Junts has also had a bill held up in the Congressional Bureau. Its seven votes, however, have kept Pedro Sánchez in power.
It might have been able to push him to unblock the bill in its weekly negotiations. I’m sure Junts could send us a proposal, but so far it hasn’t shown much interest.
How many occupied properties have you identified in Badalona? What evidence supports your claim that most cases involve people who squat as a way of life or belong to organized groups?
We don’t have exact figures. Based on many years of experience, though, I’d say that 70% of cases involve people who have made squatting a way of life.
Do they also make money from it?
In some cases, yes. In others, they kick down the door and hook up to utilities illegally so they can live without paying rent or utility bills. They make a way of life out of squatting.
Of the properties recovered during your term, how many were recovered through a court ruling, police action or an agreement for the occupants to leave?
I don’t have a breakdown at the moment. But according to official local police figures, last year we prevented more than 50% of attempted occupations in Badalona from becoming entrenched. The number of attempts has gone down each year.
You’ve personally intervened in cases where the occupants ended up leaving. What is the city’s protocol, and what role does the mayor play?
As soon as we spot an occupation in progress, get a tip from a resident or learn about it another way, a council department takes steps to prevent it from becoming entrenched. It works with the local police and, in some cases, with the planning or enforcement departments.
I’m very pleased with the results, though there’s still a lot of work to do. In 2025 and the first half of 2026, we prevented more than 50% of attempted occupations in the city.
Beyond that, it depends on the circumstances. Last weekend, at six in the morning, I was with residents who were facing threats and assaults from an organized squatting group. I try to be there for residents because it matters.
Do people stop you in the street to ask for help?
Yes. They also email me and send me private messages on social media.
How important is that personal involvement?
It comes down to priorities. My priority is to put an end to this problem. It affects a lot of people, and every neighborhood and city in the province of Barcelona is exposed to it. By showing up, I try to help find solutions and reassure residents.
Which provisions of the Housing Law would you repeal, and which would you keep?
That’s more detail than I can go into right now. The anti-squatting bill will need to amend some provisions of the Housing Law, as well as the Criminal Procedure Act, the Civil Procedure Act and the Criminal Code. Those changes are necessary if the law is going to address what people are experiencing.
What’s the most important change you could make to persuade a small landlord to put a property back on the rental market?
We need far-reaching changes that give the many people affected a solution that works for them.
How many homes do you think would return to the rental market if your anti-squatting proposal passed?
We don’t have figures yet. But I think the vast majority of homes currently off the rental market, either because owners are reluctant to rent them out or because they’re occupied, would come back onto the market.
That would make it easier for people who struggle to find a rental today, including young people, single mothers and immigrants. They face high prices, and their circumstances can also make landlords reluctant to rent to them.
If a tenant stops paying and the problem can be resolved in a few weeks instead of taking two years in court, everyone has more confidence in the system. That benefits everyone involved.
How many public or affordable homes is your administration building, and how many are you committing to during this term?
We’re currently building a 35-home development. Work on another 30 or so homes starts next month, with roughly 30 more due to begin in two or three months.
The city council hadn’t built a single public home in 20 years. The first development is now underway, and we expect to start construction on around 350 homes during this term.
