The agreement will enable the rollout of the MASC programme for suitable means to resolve conflicts, a method based on mediation and conciliation that aims to favour a resolution through dialogue to resolve housing-related conflicts and avoid, wherever possible, having to start legal proceedings.

The new service complements the agreement signed in January between the CHB and the ICAB, which enabled the rollout in all Barcelona districts of the legal guidance service on housing, previously only available at the Ciutat Vella housing office.

Mediation and conciliation to find solutions

The cases detected by legal advice services at Barcelona housing offices can be referred to the ADR Centre at the ICAB. This centre will check the admissibility of each case and designate a mediator or specialised conciliator, guaranteeing the impartiality, independence and confidentiality of the process.

The service will also include information and guidance on MASC, as well as monitoring of the agreements reached between parties until the procedure concludes.

The Barcelona Housing Consortium will invest 70,000 euros in the first year of the agreement, which is for an initial one-year period and can be extended up to a maximum of four years.

The programme comes from joint work by the Tenants’ Board in the District of L’Eixample, which periodically analyses conflicts between tenants and holders of multiple properties in the city, with special attention to the investment funds in this district.

One of the priorities of the Pla Viure

This initiative comes within the context of municipal policies to prevent residential conflicts, protect the right to housing and make it easier for people to keep their homes, one of the priorities of the Pla Viure.