This Country Is Filling Vacant Homes With People Who Need Them

Source: www.usuncut.com | Original Post Date: September 11, 2015 –

Ada Colau used to be an anti-eviction activist with Spain’s indignados movement. Now, she’s mayor of Barcelona, and is making the banks pay fines for evicting families from their homes and leaving them vacant. But Barcelona is just one of many cities doing this — in recent years, 100 municipalities across Spain have approved motions to levy fines on banks, which have an estimated 3.4 million vacant homes on their books.

While Barcelona is initially fining banks 60,000 euros monthly (approx. $68K USD) for a dozen vacant homes, more fines may be given for six times as many homes. Banks will be forced to pay the fine each month the building is unoccupied, with other fees assessed as each month goes by.