La Garriga approves the regulations for the municipal emergency housing service

The City Council of La Garriga has definitively approved the Regulation governing the municipal service of temporary emergency residential accommodation and social inclusion, which creates a Social Emergency Housing Fund intended for individuals and cohabitation units at serious risk of exclusion. The text is published in full in the Official Gazette of the Province of Barcelona on October 13, 2026, with the official reference CVE 202610149852 and 24 pages. Approval became automatic on August 20, 2026, once the public information period elapsed without allegations.

The Plenary of the City Council of La Garriga, in an ordinary session on June 22, 2026, initially approved the regulation, and the edict of definitive approval is signed by the mayor Meritxell Budo Pla dated September 9, 2026. The publication is made in compliance with article 70.2 of Law 7/1985, of April 2, regulating the bases of the local regime, and article 178 of Legislative Decree 2/2003, of April 28, which approves the Revised Text of the Municipal and Local Regime Law of Catalonia. The regulation will enter into force the day after its full publication in the gazette.

A housing fund for situations of residential exclusion

The Social Emergency Housing Fund temporarily replaces the family home and is aimed at individuals and family units in a situation of severe social vulnerability, in specific cases and for periods between six months and one year, subject to review. The dwellings, whether publicly or privately owned, are incorporated into the Fund under a lease agreement or through the transfer of use and are delivered repaired, equipped, and furnished. Annex 5 of the regulation lists the properties that make up the Fund, including number 1 Nord Street and several dwellings on Pere Ballús Street.

The target recipients are people at serious risk of social exclusion derived from housing problems, among which the text lists:

• Loss of housing by decree or final judicial sentence.
• Loss through dation in payment to a financial entity without an offer of social rent.
• Residence in substandard housing, overcrowding, or unsanitary conditions with a risk to health.
• Serious health problems aggravated by housing conditions.
• Supervening severe disability affecting mobility.
• Eviction by order of the competent authority in the face of imminent danger.
• Emergencies derived from gender-based violence.
• Severe insufficiency of resources and lack of a social or family support network.

Access requirements and scoring scale

To access it, one must prove that alternative housing options have been exhausted, hold Spanish nationality or that of a European Union member state —or a valid residence permit—, be over 18 years old or an emancipated minor, and prove two years of continuous residence in the municipality, a requirement that may be waived in cases of extreme social urgency. The weighted income of the cohabitation unit cannot exceed 2.33 times the IRSC, and no member may be the owner or usufructuary of another property.

The assessment is made using a scale of a maximum of 15 points, which awards:

• Up to 2 points for the economic criterion, based on income relative to the IRSC.
• Up to 9 points for the social criterion: 3 points for units with minors without income and at risk of exclusion, 2 points for single-parent families with dependent minors, 2 points for women victims of gender-based violence, and 2 points for people with a recognized disability equal to or greater than 33%.
• Up to 4 points for the housing situation: 2 points for an economic burden exceeding 60% of net income, 2 points for being homeless or in the process of eviction, and 2 points for those over 65 years old without housing or a support network.

Assessment Commission, duration and financial contribution

An Assessment Commission is created as a permanent and non-decisional collegiate body, composed of the head of the social action department, who presides over it, the head of the People’s Care Area, and a social action technician unrelated to the processing, with a municipal employee as secretary with a voice but no vote. The maximum term to resolve and notify is three months from the submission of the complete application, and administrative silence is dismissive.

The ordinary assignment is for a maximum of six months, extendable for periods of six months up to one year and, exceptionally, for health or socioeconomic reasons. The occupancy is not of a rental nature: the amount paid by the users is a financial contribution linked to the service, which generally cannot exceed 20% of the available net income nor, added to the passed-on utilities, 30% of the monthly net income.

Disciplinary regime and sanctions

Failure to comply with the obligations of the regulations and the internal regime rules of Annex I constitutes a minor, serious, or very serious administrative infringement. The procedure is processed in accordance with articles 25 and 29.1 of Law 40/2015 and Law 39/2015, and the resolution must be issued within six months from the initiation. Infringements expire after six months for minor ones, one year for serious ones, and two years for very serious ones.

The planned sanctions are:

• Minor infractions: written warning.
• Serious infractions: written warning, temporary prohibition of access to common areas, and temporary expulsion from the service for a maximum of three months.
• Very serious infractions: expulsion from the service and revocation or termination of the enabling title.

An administrative contentious appeal may be filed against the approval agreement before the Administrative Contentious Chamber of the High Court of Justice of Catalonia within a period of two months, or an optional appeal for reversal before the same body within a period of one month.

The regulation provides the municipality with a stable instrument to address residential emergency situations that until now depended on occasional responses, and establishes for the first time a regulated procedure for access, monitoring, and sanctioning. For families at risk of exclusion, the regulation opens a formal route for temporary accommodation linked to an integration work plan; for the City Council, it entails assuming obligations for maintenance, inspection, and social accompaniment of the affected housing stock.

Source: Official Gazette of the Province of Barcelona, October 13, 2026, Local Administration, pp. 1-24 (official reference: CVE 202610149852).