Residents and traders at 6 Carrer de Rubinstein in Putxet are due to return next week, followed by those at 54 Carrer de Sant Gervasi de Cassoles during the week ending 9 August, the Generalitat has said. The staged returns mean that occupants of about 60% of the homes evacuated after the 7 July sinkhole linked to Metro Line 9 works will be back within two weeks.

The announcement affects 11 homes and four commercial premises at Carrer de Rubinstein 6, and 31 homes plus one commercial unit at Carrer de Sant Gervasi de Cassoles 54. Residents of two of the eight buildings evacuated as a precaution have already returned.

Pilar Díaz, the Generalitat's delegate in Barcelona, gave the timetable at a media briefing in Plaça Frederic Soler on Friday 24 July. The Generalitat said building safety remains the condition for authorising further returns.

About 35 homes remain without a return timetable

The remaining 40% of evacuated homes, around 35 properties, have no confirmed date for residents to return, according to Díaz. The Generalitat said it was continuing work so that all affected residents could go home.

The regional government has said it has dealt with every affected family that requested support, with 90% of files channelled through the assistance office set up for exceptional costs arising from the incident.

  • Advance payments for affected families are set at €1,200 per person, on top of the usual reference amount.
  • The first monthly payment was expected next week, covering the period to 7 August.
  • A subsequent payment would cover the period to 7 September.

The deadline to apply for those advances ended on Friday 24 July. A final settlement is planned once normality is restored, taking account of the length of each family's evacuation.

Tenant and business support measures

The Departament de Territori, the Generalitat's territory department, is to activate a temporary service next week for tenants who use their right to suspend rent payments. The Generalitat is considering legal arrangements intended to allow tenants to pause payment while landlords continue receiving rent.

“To carry out this process as swiftly and practically as possible.”Pilar Díaz, Generalitat delegate in Barcelona, on the planned tenant support service

Businesses affected by the evacuation can seek support through a line opened by the Institut Català de Finances, the Catalan public financial institution. Díaz said she expected payments for traders to be made before the end of July.

Primary sources: ajuntament.barcelona.cat, ajuntament.barcelona.cat. Reported by Lorraine Delorenzo, Beatriz Gálvez Garcés, elnacional.cat, CatalunyaPress.es, europapress.es, Edu Gil, Gerard Pruna, Marc Guasch Ferreiro, Berto Sagrera, Silvana Antonelli, Xavi Fernández de Castro, beteve.cat, El Periódico (CA).