Home / World Habitat Awards / Winners / Intervention and Mediation Service for Situations of Housing Loss and/or Occupation (SIPHO)

Intervention and Mediation Service for Situations of Housing Loss and/or Occupation (SIPHO)

Bronze 2023 | Spain

Outline

SIPHO at a glance

Evidence shows that supporting people to remain in their homes and avoid eviction is the most effective strategy for ending homelessness. Since 2015, the Intervention and Mediation Service for Situations of Housing Loss and/or Occupation (SIPHO) has been working to prevent evictions of vulnerable people in Barcelona.

The service has a team of 43 professionnals fully funded by the municipal government, intervenes in 90% of evictions in the city, acting as a mediator between multiple parties, including the courts, residents, and property owners, and coordinating access to subsidies and referrals to other support services, such as social services.

In 2021, 86% of the cases served by SIPHO involved people living under the poverty line, and 47% involved children. The service has so far supported 31,000 people and successfully prevents nine out of 10 evictions, avoiding trauma for the individuals at risk of losing their home and reducing the economic burden associated with homelessness on the public purse.

SIPHO highlights the proactive role local and regional governments can play in protecting the right to housing through mediation between parties. Instead of confusing bureaucracy, residents turning to SIPHO for help find a user-friendly and personal service with a human-rights-based approach to support them in their time of need.

Full details

The costs of renting or paying off a mortgage in Barcelona, Spain, have risen much faster than the population’s incomes in recent years. This, coupled with growing unemployment due to the subprime crises (2007-2010) and, more recently, the Covid-19 pandemic, has increased pressure on household finances and put more people at risk of eviction. A severe shortage of social homes in the city means people face the very real threat of becoming homeless. In June 2022, 650 families were waiting for an emergency home and that number continues to grow.

Despite a moratorium on evictions because of the pandemic, there are still 20 evictions on average every day in Barcelona. This situation is expected to worsen when the current moratoriums end on 31 December 2022.

Several European-level studies and initiatives, such as Housing First, agree that helping people to maintain their tenure and avoid eviction is the most important and effective strategy for ending homelessness.

Since 2015, a municipal mediation service has been working to prevent evictions of vulnerable people in Barcelona, decreasing not only homelessness and its social consequences, but also the associated financial burden on the municipal government for emergency housing services and accompaniment activities.

The Intervention and Mediation Service for Situations of Housing Loss and/or Occupation (SIPHO) is provided by the Municipal Institute of Housing and Renovation of Barcelona and implemented through its neighbourhood-based Housing Office Network. It forms part of Barcelona’s Strategic Right to Housing Plan 2016-2024, which aims to reduce residential exclusion through the increase of the social and affordable housing offer through diverse strategies (direct construction of public housing, collaboration with private and non-profit sectors).

SIPHO intervenes in 90% of cases where people are at imminent risk of losing their home and has so far provided advice to more than 31,000 people. Demand for the service grew significantly during the COVID-19 pandemic, which is why SIPHO increased both budgets and staff, moving from 19 to 43 employees in the third quarter of 2022.

The project in practice

SIPHO was inspired by the housing rights campaign Plataforma de Afectados por la Hipoteca (PAH) and its objective is to stop or delay evictions and to provide mediation, support and coordination with social and housing services. The priority is to keep people in their homes or find a suitable alternative that fulfills the international standards of the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.

The service intervenes in urgent cases where an eviction order has been executed and residents are at risk of losing their home within 15 days. If more time is involved, the mediation process is conducted by another municipal department. SIPHO is informed of impending evictions by the judiciary or via referrals from housing officers, social services or other organisations involved in the sector.

Information is gathered on the case from all available resources to establish household composition (which is especially relevant in cases where children are involved), the type of property owner, and the formal cause of eviction (for example, non-payment of rent, end of contract, precarious occupation, or foreclosure on the mortgage).

An interview is conducted, and a home visit is made, whenever possible, to observe the state of the home. In emergency cases, the interview is carried out within the first 48 hours. Accredited economic data is looked at, including employment status and income, social and community ties, relevant health information, indicators of vulnerability and family burdens. The data and interview are analysed, along with the tenant history on file, to form an intervention action plan.

Working within clear guidelines, SIPHO contacts and negotiates with the property owner, whether that is an individual or a large business, and presents the case and action plan. Often, the resolution takes the form of an attribution of social housing or other subsidized emergency housing solutions.

If the owner is a private company – and 52% of cases are – a proposal is made to stop the eviction as stipulated under the rules of current legislation. Mortgage conditions can be reviewed through aid programmes, or social rental where appropriate. As a municipal service, SIPHO has an authoritative voice, which it has used to develop specific agreements with big property owners, such as Spain’s largest private landlord Blackstone, for the effective coordination of cases.

For the remaining 48% of cases where a small business or individual owner is involved, SIPHO seeks to learn about the owner’s situation and establish a plan to negotiate a postponement of the eviction, whether through the provision of subsidies to avoid it, the possibility of renegotiating the rental price or inclusion in Barcelona’s affordable Housing Stock Programme. In such cases, SIPHO tries to find a win-win situation, so both the property owner and the tenant can take advantage of specific subsidies developed by the municipality.

If the eviction is carried out, SIPHO coordinates the urgent relocation of the household with social and/or emergency services. On the other hand, if the eviction is avoided then a plan is put in place so that going forward the resident gets the help needed to sustain their tenure.

Additionally, people threatened with eviction are given emotional support throughout the process and residents are accompanied by SIPHO staff when dealing with the different parties involved in the case.

SIPHO is primarily focused on helping vulnerable groups, including people over the age of 65, households with dependents, pregnant women, people with disabilities, serious illness, or mental disorders, situations involving domestic violence and people who are economically vulnerable.

These criteria mean it is rare for SIPHO not to assist in a case of eviction. In 2021, 86% of the cases served by SIPHO related to people living under the poverty line and 47% involved children. It is worth noting that a large proportion of the households affected are women who care on their own for dependants or minors.

Funding

SIPHO is fully funded by Barcelona’s municipal government. Since 2015, the total cost of the project has been €4,205,270 ($4,441,550 USD).

This amount includes the cost of the current management contract which expires in October 2022. There is currently an ongoing tender to extend the contract for two more years, with the option of extending it for another two after that, for the same amount.

The next stage of the programme is expected to cost around €10 million ($10,560,000 USD) plus tax. This includes staff costs, supply costs (for example, transportation services for those facing evictions) and office costs.

A variety of support and subsidies are engaged by the programme. These are financed through the Housing Consortium of Barcelona, with the municipal authority covering 40% of the costs and the Government of Catalonia covering the remaining 60%.

SIPHO’s growth over the past seven years reflects the increase in poverty among Barcelona’s residents. In each intervention, staff provide financial support in the form of subsidies which cover debt and rent payment support for residents who have recovered their ability to make payments but have accumulated debt in the interim, social support for those who have lost their source of income, mediation and legal support so individuals can access public housing, pensions, assisted living, housing for victims of domestic violence and job placements.

For homeowners there is support from the affordable housing portfolio – a programme that ensures empty homes can be publicly offered at affordable prices – to compensate for the loss of income when a new social contract is negotiated.

Social impact

Homelessness prevention not only avoids trauma for the individuals at risk of losing their home, but it also saves money for the public purse, as post-eviction support from social services has a much greater economic cost.

In its first seven years, SIPHO has supported more than 31,000 people, a third of whom are minors. It participates in 90% of the eviction processes throughout the city, preventing nine out of 10 evictions. Since its creation there has been a 22% decrease in evictions in Barcelona.

A key feature of the service is its personal approach. SIPHO’s implementation through the Housing Office Network facilitates closer working with vulnerable groups affected by the threat of eviction and moves away from the practice of considering people as numbers and statistics.

In cases involving undocumented migrants, there are limitations as to which subsidies can be used. However, these groups are served as best as possible and are offered other mediation and emergency support where possible.

Transfer and expansion

SIPHO is growing rapidly with the recent doubling of its staff completed in October 2022. This growth brings with it a new structure, which includes added roles for social services, such as mobilising emergency accommodation support, in order to supply more comprehensive and specialised support.

Going forward, SIPHO will continue to consolidate and improve the service it offers, increase its collaborative work with other social services and develop new strategies for keeping vulnerable people in their homes.

Transfer is a key priority for the programme and a study is planned to assess the savings that this type of intervention represents for the public purse, with the aim of encouraging replication of the service elsewhere.

It is rare for local administrations to take such a proactive approach to homelessness prevention, as the issue is usually tackled by social services or by organisations attending to homeless people after homelessness has occurred.

SIPHO highlights the important role that local and regional governments can play in protecting the right to housing and preventing homelessness through mediation between parties. The coordination and integration of services and subsidies, as well as the programme’s humane approach, is proving very effective for residents, who instead of facing confusing bureaucracy now find a useful and friendly service to support them at their time of greatest need.

Case Studies

María is 41 years old, she lost her home and currently lives in an affordable rental apartment managed by the Barcelona City Council’s Social Rental Pool program. María works as a clerk a few hours a week, her 55-year-old husband has lost his job as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. She lives with her husband, her two youngest children and her father.

I was very nervous, I was in big financial trouble. I was trying to prioritize my children. My father was then 80 years old and I had to take care of him since he was confined to a wheelchair. My husband had lost his job and was depressed. Both refused to accept reality.

When I received the notice of judgment for non-payment of rent I sank, I had only been a few months behind in rent, I was also behind in supplies. I had wanted to talk to the property for a long time, but hadn’t because my husband hadn’t found a job yet and didn’t know what to tell them. I didn’t want to move because of my father’s situation and his lack of mobility and for not changing the children’s schools.

A few days later I looked for information and requested an appointment with the Municipal Housing Office. I steeled myself and explained that I couldn’t pay the rent, that I had an eviction trial.

I was treated by different professionals who valued my situation and looked for alternatives. A mediation was carried out with the property that did not work and I could not stay in what had been my home for so long. They helped me process access to my current home.

Finally, the dreaded day of the eviction arrived, the SIPHO professional helped me in various aspects, supporting me in every step of the process, giving me directions, always being there when I needed her most, she was a helping hand. I was not alone and he mediated so that I had more time so that I could sign the contract for the new home and the transfer.

I was lucky to ask for help a few days later knowing that I would go to an eviction trial and not thinking that everything would resolve itself and by magic.

Now I am closer to work, and they have extended my working day. I can pay rent without juggling money. I have a better quality of life, in the end the change of school for the children has not been such a big deal. I see them happy and content, with many new friends and if they are, so am I.

*Modified personal data

Dolores is 67 years old and lived on the first floor of a rented house in the Poblenou neighborhood. She lived in this apartment for more than 40 years, where she saw her 4 children and grandchildren grow up. It was her home, until her health began to worsen and the home that had given her so much joy became her own hell.

I had mobility problems that prevented me from leading a normal life, from having autonomy. My children were very concerned about my health, since they saw that the house was not adapted to my needs. Humidity, cracks, there was no elevator, the stairs to go down to the street were narrow and dangerous. I fell several times, I couldn’t go outside anymore. I was trapped between memories in the walls of my home, which were gradually cracking due to the passage of time and the lack of money to be able to face the reform needed. My children decided to remodel the bathroom so that within my possibilities I could take a shower.

I had the misfortune that the owner of the house found out and decided to sue me for not reporting the work carried out. The laws are unfair and not designed to protect people like me.

My health got worse, I didn’t want to get out of bed, I didn’t understand the reason that was going to lead me to lose my home. My family tried to find other housing on the private market, but my income made it impossible to find a suitable place for me. The neighborhood had undergone a great change with new housing constructions, technology and design offices. Nothing resembled the neighborhood I found 40 years ago.

My family decided to ask for help from the Municipal Housing Office and from the SIPHO Service they accompanied me in this process. They spoke with the property to try to reach an agreement. Finally, and after the refusal of the property so that I could continue living rented at home, a social apartment adapted to my needs was processed from the housing office. My SIPHO and my social worker were by my side in this process.

*Name has been changed.