Commercial Properties for Housing Rescue in Barcelona?

The rental market are looking for alternative options for housing in Catalonia. In certain areas it is already difficult to find apartments for rent. One way is to convert empty and closed commercial premises so that they can be used as housing. The Association of Building Promoters of Catalonia (APCE) supports the proposal made by some of its members within the working group that addresses the creation of a reference index of the real estate market in Catalonia. That has proposed this subject directly to the administrations. According to Joana Amat, co-director gerenal of Amat Inmobiliaria, there are approximately 15,000 commercial properties unused in Barcelona only. Changing the properties into housing would be make great deal to real estate market.

The measure of this phenomena is growing need of houses without architectural barriers. It would also help to solve the tourists’ accommodation which has been detracted from 18,000 apartments in rental market in Barcelona. However, there’re legal regulation that doesn’t allow some properties to be destined into housing. The initiative isn’t completely new since it has been tried in some Catalan cities. Now the idea on the hands of administration. The president of the APCE says that the administration reacts too slowly even to obtain licenses to build.

21 % of the new apartments in the market was rented in 48 hours in Barcelona according to a study published by Idealista. So rental industry needs also some improvements to made in incorporating the new offers.

Source: http://www.elperiodico.com/es/noticias/economia/promotores-inmobiliarios-proponen-reconvertir-comercios-vivienda-5918374