Badalona now has a new tool to act against illegal occupation and the coexistence problems that this phenomenon can cause. The mayor of Badalona, Xavier Garcia Albiol, and the president of the College of Property Administrators of Barcelona and Lleida, Lorenzo Ignacio Viñas, signed this afternoon a collaboration agreement between the property administrators and the city council to act, in a coordinated manner, in cases of illegal occupation of homes, premises and overoccupied homes.
Among the main objectives of this agreement is the search for solutions, both preventive and executive, against possible illegal occupations or overoccupations of homes. With this reciprocal collaboration, a warning system is established against situations of illegal employment, especially those carried out by groups that operate to obtain economic benefit.
The agreement articulates a constant information relationship between property administrators, the City Council and the Badalona Urban Guard so that, where appropriate, immediate action can be taken. Regarding preventive actions, the signed agreement provides that when a community of owners becomes aware of empty properties on the property, this information will be provided to the City Council, so that those at risk of being occupied can be detected. , as well as registering those properties already occupied or overoccupied.
The mayor of Badalona, Xavier Garcia Albiol, highlighted during the signing ceremony of the agreement that: "the municipal government is determined to fight against illegal occupations" and explained that "contrary to what is often said, this phenomenon affects much more to people who live in neighborhoods and areas with fewer economic resources." "Avoiding coexistence problems derived from employment is a social policy action," Garcia Albiol stressed. "I want to make it very clear that when faced with an occupation illegally, the victim is not the occupier, the victim is the neighbor who suffers the consequences of the occupation," he added.
The mayor has lamented that "the laws defend and help the squatters more than the owners and neighbors affected by conflictive occupations." "Something is being done wrong if Catalonia, and especially the metropolitan area of Barcelona, concentrates 43 percent of illegal occupations," he explained and, as an example, he pointed out that almost every day the Badalona Urban Guard manages to stop new employment attempts.
On the other hand, the president of the Association of Property Administrators of Barcelona and Lérida, Lorenzo Ignacio Viñas, has highlighted that this agreement establishes a close relationship and joint work between the property administrators and the Badalona City Council. “We administrators are the ones who are in contact with the neighboring communities at all times and, therefore, we know first-hand about any problem. Now, thanks to this agreement, we have a direct line with the City Council to resolve and move forward with any situation that hinders the normal functioning of the community,” stated Viñas. In addition to employment cases, the president of the College added that property managers can also be useful in detecting building safety problems since they are also in contact with quantity surveyors, architects and other colleagues. courses for technical professionals.
The agreement, which is valid for four years, highlights that correct coexistence in the communities of owners and neighbors constitutes a fundamental element in the daily well-being of citizens and for its proper functioning it has foreseen the implementation of a monitoring commission , made up of representatives of the City Council, the Urban Guard and the Association of Property Administrators of Barcelona and Lleida, which will meet periodically and prepare a report of the actions carried out.
