SIPHO - Intermediation Service for People in the Process of Evictions and Occupancies

Status
ongoing
50%
City

Barcelona (ciudad)

Main actors

City Government, Community / Citizen Group, Public Utility

Project area

Whole City/Administrative Region

Duration

Ongoing since 2016

This program provides urgent, coordinated support for people at risk of becoming homeless in the city of Barcelona.

SIPHO’s objective is to coordinate relevant actors and resources for urgent and integral intervention to avoid eviction. The service intervenes in cases where eviction orders are being executed, and debt settlement arrangements and income continuance have either not been explored or not been accepted. Its functions include:

  • Mediation between landlords and tenants, and between lenders and mortgagees;
  • Options to assume the existing debt and arrears and allow occupants to remain in place;
  • Arrangements for legal aid;
  • Advice and assistance;
  • And competency to allocate alternative housing where evictions are unavoidable.

Sustainable Development Goals

Reduce inequality within and among countriesMake cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainablePromote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels

URBACT Good Practice Label

This project was awarded the 'URBACT Good Practice Label' in 2017.

City
Barcelona (ciudad), Spain
Size and population development
In 2018, the Institute of Catalonia recorded the city of Barcelona’s population as 1,620,343. The city covers an area 101.4km2 with a population density of 15,987 per kim2. The population of the city remains relatively stable as it is already exceptionally densely populated while the surrounding metropolitan area continues to grow steadily
Population composition
The population is comprised of 52.73A% female and 47.27%male. The 0-14 is recorded at 12.63%,15-64 at 65.83%, 65-84 at 17.41% and 85+ @ 4.13%. 62% of the population were born in Catalonia, while almost 24% come from other areas of Spain. Approximately 14% come from other countries, a percentage that has significantly risen from less than 4% in 2001. Most migrants are from Pakistan, Italy, China, Ecuador, Bolivia and Morocco and the city is home to Spain’s largest (approximately 3,500) Jewish community. Spanish is the most spoken language in Barcelona and is understood almost universally. After Spanish, the Catalan language is the second most spoken language, and is understood by 95% of the population, while 72.3% can speak it, 79% can read it, and 53% can write it. 49.5% of Barcelona residents of all ages identified themselves at Catholic. The numbers reflect a broader trend in Spain whereby the numbers of self-identified Catholics has declined. Other religions include Jewish, Islamic, Evangelical, Jehovah’s Witness, Evangelical Buddhism and Eastern Orthodox.
Main functions
The city of Barcelona is the capital of the autonomous community of Catalonia and the second-largest city in Spain. The city is located on the Iberian Peninsula facing the Mediterranean Sea between the mouths of the rivers Llobregat and Besòs and bounded to the west by the Serra de Collserola mountain range, the tallest peak of which is 512 metres high. Barcelona has a rich cultural heritage and is today an important cultural centre and a major tourist destination. Particularly renowned are the architectural works of Antoni Gaudí and Lluís Domènech i Montaner, which have been designated UNESCO World Heritage Sites.
Main industries / business
The city of Barcelona is a leading economic, tourism, sports, cultural heritage, arts, science, fashion, and commerce center. In 2018 it maintained its ranking as the fourth most economically powerful city by GDP in the European Union and is one of the world's most prosperous city brands.
Sources for city budget
The City of Barcelona draws its budget for public expenditure largely from property tax, fees, fines, operating revenues, other taxes and subsides from the Government of Spain
Political structure
As the capital of the autonomous community of Catalonia, Barcelona is the seat of the Catalan government. The city is also the capital of the Province of Barcelona. Barcelona is governed by a city council formed by 41 city councillors, elected for a four-year term by universal suffrage. Barcelona's city council is organised in two levels: a political one, with elected city councillors, and one executive, which administrates the programs and executes the decisions taken on the political level.
Administrative structure
Since 1987, the city of Barcelona has been divided into 10 administrative districts. These are administrated by a councillor designated by the main city council. The executive branch is led by a Chief Municipal Executive Officer who reports to the Mayor. It is made up of departments which are legally part of the city council and by separate legal entities of two types: autonomous public departments and public enterprises.
Website
http://www.bcn.cat

Homelessness is often the outcome of the complex interplay of a series of vulnerability factors. However, unemployment and household over-indebtedness remain major risks across Europe, according to the 2016 European Commission Research project “Homeless prevention in the context of evictions”. Traditionally, homelessness has been addressed as a social services issue. It is evolving from a “staircase” model, where the person has to meet certain conditions in order to gradually have access to better and more stable housing, toward the “housing first” model, based on direct access to long-term housing together with social support. This latter has proved more cost-effective and with better results.

The SIPHO programme uses this same logic but applied to preventive measures deriving from housing policies. If “housing first” puts housing at the centre of social integration, this same principle should remain when evictions take place in case of vulnerability and exclusion.

The objective of this practice is to reduce homelessness through preventive measures on eviction processes, therein linked with poverty and social exclusion.

The Intermediation Service for People in the Process of Evictions and Occupancies (SIPHO) is the last phase in an intervention by the Unit Against Residential Exclusion under Barcelona Municipality's 2016-25 Right Housing Plan. The SIPHO practice is a relevant example of integrated and participative approach principles. Its objective is to reduce eviction through effective interventions that often include the coordination of a wide array of services, both horizontally (social services, housing offices, emergency services, health services, educational services at the local level) and vertically, with metropolitan, provincial and regional organisations.

The coordination with other civil society organisations is equally essential. In the case of Barcelona it constitutes a key element at different stages: at the time of identifying the cases, when neighbourhood associations or the Platform of People Affected by Mortgages (PAH) report cases, and also while finding solutions, when non-governmental organisations provide emergency housing alternatives or emergency aid funds.

To a large extent, interventions in urgent evictions were previously carried out by civil society organisations, such as the Platform of People Affected by Mortgages and other NGOs. However, the profile of the evicted people has changed since then, now mostly affecting rental and social housing and precarious occupancies. In this regard, Barcelona has now joined the most common profile of evictions in most EU cities.

Despite this, the structures, procedures and lessons learned from the large number of evictions due to foreclosures have greatly contributed to developing this local practice. Their participation has been essential in both the design and the implementation of the practice. Participatory bodies like the Housing Advisory Board (Conseill d´Habitatge), the Local Eviction Network (Taula de Desonaments), the District Housing Meetings or the Local Social Emergency Network (Mesa de Emergencia Social) have been set up to assess cases and prioritise access to alternative accommodation. These bodies have a watchdog role in implementation and accountability processes.

The lead agency for the project is the Barcelona City Council, Unit Against Residential Exclusion.

The budget to date is:
2015: 50K€
2016: 173K€
2017: 397K€

According to the Unit Against Residential Exclusion (UCER) of the Housing Department, where the SIPHO operates, 679 families were assisted in 2014, 1,020 families in 2015 and 1,574 families in 2016. That means an annual increase of almost 50%. This number does not correspond to an increase of eviction cases, quite the contrary. In 2016, the number of evictions decreased by 8%. However, it remains extraordinary high, with 30 evictions a week just in Barcelona. Nonetheless, this last data should be read with caution, as they are not disaggregated between first homes and other kinds of real estate.

The increase of families assisted by this homelessness prevention project corresponds to the local administration’s firm commitment to strengthen this service. Today, 80% of eviction processes involve this service.
It should be noted that data on eviction is extremely hard to collect as it is frequently dispersed, not disaggregated or is even non-existent. Due to the extraordinary number of evictions in Spain since the beginning of the economic crisis, Spain has some of the most accurate data in the EU, according to the experts that coordinated the European Commission report, “Homeless prevention in the context of evictions”.

The main challenges for the 2016-2-25 Right to Housing Plan are:

  • Boosting mediation and help with rent payments, to enable housing access and maintenance.
  • Preventing the replacement of housing and protecting residents.
  • Increasing the public housing stock.
  • Mobilising the private stock towards affordable housing.
  • Developing an active redevelopment policy that boosts the city's more vulnerable environments.
  • Helping to ensure the social function of housing and to prevent anomalies in its uses.
  • Preparing the city for an ageing population.

A large percentage of the population cannot access adequate housing, especially low- and lower-income households. Housing affordability is becoming a great concern in urban contexts across the EU, with more than 17.3% of the population facing risks of poverty, 11.4% of the population living with burdensome housing costs and with dropping investment in social housing (EUROSTAT). The widespread increase of homelessness is one of the outcomes of these factors (FEANTSA).

Homelessness carries an enormous human cost for the individual or the family affected, but it also carries a large cost for public budgets. Keeping a family in their home is a much more cost-effective approach than paying for inappropriate emergency housing.

In addition, a number of national experts have identified deficits in the availability and accessibility of eviction prevention services, according to the EU report, and cities are best equipped to conduct this preventive intervention.

http://urbact.eu/sites/default/files/273_Barcelona_Gpsummary.pdf

urbact.eu/sites/default/files/housing_for_all_barcelona.pptx

URBACT case study: intermediation service for people in the process of evictions and occupancies Urgent, coordinated support for people at risk of becoming homeless: http://urbact.eu/intermediation-service-people-process-evictions-and-occupancies

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Maite Arrondo
Barcelona (área metropolitana), Spain

Maite Arrondo

Individual | Consultant on Innovation in Housing Policies
URBACT Good Practice Label
Grand Paris, France

URBACT Good Practice Label

Institution | European Territorial Cooperation program

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