The UNESCO Housing Chair has organized a training session on urban leases for the Professional Association of Tax Technicians of Catalonia and the Balearic Islands (delegation of Tarragona), on 20 September 2018. Several researchers from the Housing Chair have taken part in the seminar (Prof. Dr. Sergio Nasarre, Dr. Frederic Adan, Dr. Rosa Maria Garcia and Dr. Elga Molina), in which the civil and procedural aspects of urban leases have been addressed.
Researchers of the UNESCO Housing Chair, Prof. Dr. Sergio Nasarre and Núria Lambea, attended and participated in the European Network for Housing Research (ENHR) International Conference 2018, held in Uppsala from the 26th to the 29th of June. This year’s theme was “More together, more apart: Migration, densification, segregation”. The researchers presented papers on “Legal causes for the situation of disrepair and lack of universal accessibility of the Spanish condominiums after ten years of crisis” and on “Social housing tenures in Spain: does more vulnerability imply less stability?”, respectively.
During the ENHR conference, five Coordination Committee members were elected and installed on a four-year term, being Prof. Dr. Sergio Nasarre one of them and, thus, renewing a position that he has been holding since 2014.
The 4th Edition of the Summer Course of the UNESCO Housing Chair of the University Rovira i Virgili took place in the city of Valls, Tarragona (Old Convent of Carmen), last June 15th. Researchers from the Chair, visiting researchers, such as Dr. Padraic Kenna or Dr. Brano Glumac, and representatives from both the Chair’s partners and the Valls City Council, which actively collaborated in its organization, took part in the Course, which dealt with topics related to collaborative housing and the urban environment, such as housing and blockchain, cohousing, condo-hotels and urban regeneration. It was presented the book series on housing (“Derecho de la Vivienda”), published by the prestigious Spanish publisher Tirant lo Blanch in collaboration with the UNESCO Housing Chair. The first two volumes of the series are already available, which deal with housing tenures and reverse mortgages (http://www.tirant.com/editorial/colecciones/derecho-de-la-vivienda).
Dr. Héctor Simón attended the “Regulatory Issues in Property Law Conference 2018” on 25 and 26 May 2018. This Congress, organized by the Cambridge Center for Property Law, brought together experts in property law and professionals from United Kingdom and other countries so as to discuss the most important challenges currently facing property rights, urban planning and environmental law.
Dr. Héctor Simón attended the International Conference” New perspectives on acquisitive prescription”, which was held on 10th and 11th May 2018 at the University of Groningen. Dr. Simón presented a paper on the relationship between the different Land Registration systems in Europe and the institution of acquisitive prescription on land. This Conference was organised within the framework of the Group on acquisitive prescription of the Common Core of European Private Law (http: //www.common- core.org).
On 28th of February 2018 took place the Seminar about the modifications of the VI book of the Catalan Civil Code, concerning the obligations and contracts, organised by the Bar Association of Tarragona in collaboration with the Urban Property Chamber of Tarragona and vLex editors. More than seventy people attended to the Seminar. Dr. Héctor Simón Moreno, researcher at the UNESCO Housing Chair of Rovira i Virgili University and Civil law professor of this University, was invited to speak at the seminar about the new regulation of the sale contract and the mandate contract in the Catalan Civil Code.
Last Friday 16th of March 2018 took place at the Rovira i Virgili University the International Seminar ‘’Socio-technical aspects of the circular and collaborative economy’’ organized by the UNESCO Housing Chair of this University. It was well attended by 70 researchers, professionals and academics from 15 countries. The Seminar started with a keynote speech by Prof. Gabriela Avram, director of the COST initiative ‘’From sharing to caring’’. Then, a parallel workshop took place, counting 40 papers’ presentations about collaborative tourism, collaborative mobility, co-working, platforms and their finance and housing and collaborative cities. In the afternoon session, there was a round table with academics and professionals of national and international relevance in this field. Finally, conclusions were drawn and were discussed with attendants.
Dr. Sergio Nasarre, Dr. Estela Rivas and Gemma Caballé, attended the National Conference organized by the General Council of Real Estate Agents in Zaragoza carried by the title “The Real Estate Union ” to deal with the current situation and the new challenges of the estate agents profession in Spain.
Doctoral researcher Rosa Maria Garcia Teruel has represented the UNESCO Housing Chair at the TENLAW International Conference, held in Groningen (the Netherlands) on 28 and 29 September. The researcher has presented and discussed the results of her doctoral thesis through the paper “Repairs in lieu of rent in tenancy law: a new option for people at risk of social exclusion”. This conference dealt with different aspects of tenancy law in Europe and its role in guaranteeing the right to housing in the current migration context.
