A BARCELONA family has slammed Spain’s housing market as ‘completely dehumanised’ as they face eviction from their home of 22 years over unpaid rent.
Nearly 50 activists gathered on Wednesday outside Jordi Gali and Jacqueline Aramayo’s home, on Carrer de la Marina 124, to protest against the eviction order.
The Gali family’s landlord, a Barcelona-based property management company called Urban Power, has ramped up efforts to evict them since Spain scrapped its Covid-era tenant protection laws in February, according to an El Pais report.
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Gali, 63, told the outlet: “The housing market has become completely dehumanised. The prices being asked are excessive and unaffordable for an average family.
“You have to devote your entire salary to paying for a home, and it’s even harder when you have children.”
The couple, who have a son, are set to lose their home on June 26 under a court order.
After moving into the apartment in 2004, the family first fought eviction proceedings in 2018, when their former landlord attempted to force them out after their contract expired.
They were ultimately able to remain in the property thanks to what Gali described as a ‘bureaucratic’ loophole.
Shortly afterwards, the entire building was bought by Urban Power, which the family claims plans to convert the block into holiday rentals.
When the pandemic struck in 2020, Aramayo lost her job and the family began struggling to pay their monthly rent of €850.
The Galis have been fighting renewed eviction attempts ever since.
Until February, Spain’s tenant protection laws shielded them from losing their home, but that battle now appears lost after the measures were scrapped with votes from right-wing parties Vox, Partido Popular (PP) and Junts.
“It’s all come as a huge shock to us,” Gali told El Pais.
“Our son is staying at a friend’s house. They’ve been incredibly supportive because we don’t want him to have to go through this ordeal.”
The case comes as Barcelona intensifies efforts to crack down on holiday rentals amid growing concerns that locals are being priced out of the city’s housing market.
In 2024, city hall announced that all 10,500 tourist apartments in Barcelona would be phased out by 2028, later extending the ban to 12 neighbouring municipalities.
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