A renters’ movement in Catalonia is saving families from eviction and trying to fill the gap left by the state

Earlier this year, I found myself in the city of L’Hospitalet de Llobregat to the south-west of Barcelona. It lacks the fame and tourist hordes of the Catalan capital, but the two places are connected by the same dire housing crisis.

Guided by Júlia Nueno, organiser of a grassroots tenants’ movement, I found a community of neighbours in L’Hospitalet who hold their meetings in a public park yet are managing to take responsibility for something the authorities are failing at: putting a roof over people’s heads. Their challenge is daunting in a corner of Spain that still bears the scars of the 2008 economic crisis and remains in the grip of the Covid pandemic.