Families with financial problems are beginning to occupy unused council flats (article in Castilian, El Periodico). In the neighbourhoods of Baró de Viver and Via Trajana, in Sant Andreu and Sant Adrià del Besòs respectively, more than 20 families have forced entry into apartments that have been empty for up to nine years because the council has been unable to rent them out. One of those who has moved into an empty flat, Fernando Jiménez, said that the families weren’t looking for free accommodation, but wanted to be able to live in the properties legally by paying a low rent, as appropriate for such council flats: Jiménez explained that he has three children, two of which are blind, and he is currently unemployed, so cannot pay the market rate for a rented apartment. However, Jiménez, like some of the other families, hasn’t formally requested a council flat because he’s worried that his application will be rejected by the Ajuntament. Last week, the Housing Department of Barcelona admitted to El Periodico that 12 percent of council flats designated for young people are currently empty. The spokesman also said that the waiting list to assign these flats has now expired and so a new process will begin.