Spanish courts uphold evictions in Donostia and Barcelona

Judicial rulings in Spain have confirmed the eviction of residents in Donostia and Barcelona following disputes over rental agreements and legal standing.

In Donostia, the Provincial Court of Gipuzkoa ratified an eviction order for a tenant and their family. The court found that the tenant breached contract clauses by unauthorized subletting rooms to individuals outside the original family unit. Municipal records showed that while the lease began in 2017 for five people, the number of registered residents eventually reached 17. The court dismissed appeals, noting that a single prior written permission to sublet one room did not grant the tenant authority to rent to an indefinite number of occupants.

In Barcelona, a single mother was evicted from a flat in the Clot neighborhood despite meeting the criteria for vulnerability protections under current housing decrees. The court ruled that because the rental contract was not in her name—as she was paying a third party who sublet the space—she lacked the legal standing required to trigger a suspension of the eviction. Legal observers and housing activists have criticized the decision, arguing that the ruling exploits a legal loophole that leaves subtenants unprotected by housing rights laws.