Rental Insight
Government rental index shows rents are €500 cheaper on average – but only on paper
The Spanish government’s official rent reference index pegs national rental prices 41% below market averages, raising questions about its effectiveness and reach amid a housing market in perpetual inflation mode.
As rental prices across Spain climb ever higher — up between 10.4% and 13.3% over the past year, according to leading portals Fotocasa, Idealista, and Pisos.com — the government’s rent reference index was introduced as a key tool to bring some order to the chaos. One year since its inception, however, the index’s reach is limited, serving as a binding cap only in certain ‘stressed areas’ of Catalonia.
Based on tax declarations from more than two million landlords, this official pricing tool calculates a fair rent band for each property in the country. The latest update places the national average rent at €8.20 per square metre — translating into about €590 a month for a standard 72 sqm flat. By contrast, Idealista reports a market average of €14 per sqm, or €1,120 per month for a similar property.
Mind the gap: 41% cheaper, €500 per month difference
This reveals a significant gulf: the government’s official pricing is, on average, €500 lower per month than what’s actually being asked in the open market. In provincial capitals, the average gap is €306 — with only Lugo showing near parity between reference and market rents. Elsewhere, the disparity widens severely, particularly in big cities and tourist hotspots.
Take Barcelona as a prime example. The average marketed rent for a 70 sqm flat exceeds €1,600, while declared rents — as per the government index — sit at €870, slashing the difference to a staggering €750 per month. Palma de Mallorca, Valencia, and Madrid show similar distortions, with average chasms of €700, €665, and €575 respectively.
In southern beach-minded favourites like Málaga and Alicante, the difference still hovers around €500, meaning reference prices are around 42% to 45% below asking figures in the market.
At the other end of the spectrum, smaller and less touristy cities such as Huelva, Jaén, Lleida, and Badajoz reveal a narrower margin — sometimes less than €200 — though that still reflects 25% lower costs as per official figures.
Guiding light or paper tiger?
Despite the headline-grabbing price differences, the real-world impact of the index is currently limited. Outside of Catalonia’s stressed zones, using the reference index remains voluntary — landlords and tenants can consult it, but they’re not bound by it. The government insists it is intended to bring transparency and guidance to negotiations, not to suppress housing market economics.
Nevertheless, Housing Minister Isabel Rodríguez’s department is pushing for national expansion, hoping that the index will not just inform but influence future rental agreements across Spain. The system’s credibility hinges on its data source — tax filings — which arguably reflects more accurate rental income figures than online listings, which can skew high based on aspirational landlord pricing.
Looking ahead: Will it gain traction?
The question now is whether this rent reference index will become a widely accepted benchmark, or remain just another well-intentioned but toothless tool in Spain’s ongoing housing affordability crisis.
For now, while renters can take comfort in knowing the government thinks they should be paying €500 less per month, that knowledge alone won’t sign a lease.
Twelve months after Catalonia became the first and only Spanish region to universally apply rent caps under Spain’s new national housing law, preliminary data suggests limited success in curbing housing pressures. While average rents in regulated “stressed zones” have indeed fallen by 3.7%, the market itself seems to be grinding to a halt.
New figures from the regional government based on data from Incasòl — Catalonia’s public land and housing agency — show that the number of newly signed rental contracts has dropped significantly, especially in the city of Barcelona, the epicentre of the region’s housing crisis. Stakeholders from tenant unions to property owners agree on one thing: finding a reasonably priced flat remains as difficult as ever.
Rent prices drop, but availability dries up
According to Incasòl, average contractual rents in Catalonia’s 140 designated “stressed” municipalities fell from €911/month in Q1 2024 to €878/month in Q4. In Barcelona, rents dropped more steeply, by 6.4%, ending the year at an average of €1,117/month — still among the highest in Spain.
However, those gains come at a price: liquidity. Rental contract signings in these areas have plummeted. Across the designated municipalities, new rental agreements dropped 21% from Q1 to Q4 in 2024. In Barcelona, the number of contracts declined 17% in the three quarters following the introduction of the price caps.
Even more concerning, the balance between new leases and contract terminations is now at its weakest point since records began — excluding the COVID year. In 2024, Barcelona saw just 2,724 more rental contracts signed than ended, and 71% of that slim surplus came in the first quarter, before rent controls took effect.
Property owners say the rules are pushing flats off the market or into sales channels. “The market is stagnating,” said Òscar Gorgues, director of the Barcelona Chamber of Urban Property. “New rental supply is drying up, and much of it is going to the for-sale market instead.”
There is also a growing mismatch between recorded rental prices and asking prices, as illustrated by the next chart. This suggests that we are seeing a split market created by rent control. Contract rents are tamed by regulation, but asking rents reflect a shortage of available units and landlords trying to recoup value or navigate around the rules. It’s a classic tension in rent-regulated markets.
Policymakers hail the law as a success
Despite the slowdown, Spain’s Housing Minister Isabel Rodríguez and Catalan Housing Minister Sílvia Paneque defended the rent controls at a press conference in Barcelona on Friday. Speaking alongside the city’s mayor, Jaume Collboni, the trio declared the law a win for affordability.
“The rent caps are having a positive effect,” Rodríguez said, urging other Spanish regions — particularly those governed by the conservative Partido Popular — to adopt the law more widely.
Annual rental averages still rose slightly year-on-year due to a sharp uptick in early 2024 before the cap came into effect. In municipalities declared “stressed” in March 2024, average rent rose to €884.95/month for the year — up from €871.82 in 2023 and €811.76 in 2022. However, the quarterly trend points to a levelling-off or decline since then.
Seasonal rentals surge as workaround
With price caps placing pressure on standard rental contracts, landlords appear to be seeking alternatives. The number of seasonal rental listings — which aren’t currently subject to price controls — shot up by 45% across Catalonia last year.
The Catalan government has pledged to crack down on abuses within the seasonal market, promising tougher oversight and enforcement mechanisms. “Seasonal lets play a role, but we will actively investigate and penalise fraudulent use,” said Paneque.
Tenant groups remain sceptical. The Tenants’ Union (Sindicat de Llogateres) criticised the ongoing unaffordability in key cities and called for tighter regulation of seasonal leases, arguing that price caps without supply-side support are not solving the crisis. They plan to return to the streets with a national demonstration on 5 April.
Rental search now tougher than ever
Meanwhile, prospective tenants are finding themselves in a more competitive race for fewer listings. According to Idealista, now consulted by the Bank of Spain for housing data, around 54 potential tenants now compete for each available rental — up from 40 prior to the law.
“The rental market has become a word-of-mouth game,” said Carles Sala, spokesperson for Catalonia’s Association of Estate Agents. “Flats don’t even make it to the listing stage before they’re snapped up.”
Conclusion: control without supply is not enough
One year on, Catalonia’s rent caps are delivering modest relief in prices — but the persistent lack of supply, sluggish contract turnover, and shifting landlord strategies suggest the market is increasingly paralysed.
While policymakers celebrate headline figures, it’s becoming clear that rent control without a comprehensive plan to boost supply — particularly subsidised housing — may only offer temporary gains. Whether other regions will follow Catalonia’s lead depends on how the long-term effects unfold in an increasingly constrained rental landscape.
Take a deep dive into the figures for the Barcelona rental market.
Holiday rentals
Spain’s New Tourist Rental Registry Validates 8,800 Properties In Just Three Months, Eyes Thousands More
The Government’s new centralised registry for short-term and tourist rentals is off to a busy start — but it also reveals the scale of the rental wild west authorities are trying to rein in.
Three months after its launch, Spain’s new Ventanilla Única Digital (Single Digital Window) has already validated nearly 8,800 homes for short-term or tourist rental. These properties now possess an official registration number — a kind of vehicle plate for holiday lets — which will soon be mandatory for advertising on platforms like Airbnb or Booking.com.
In total, the platform has received more than 18,000 registration requests so far. That means slightly less than half have already been approved, while about 7,400 applications remain under review. However, not all properties have made the cut — 1,924, or 11% of requests, were denied, typically for failing to meet regulatory requirements.
July deadline looms for online listing
From July onwards, platforms will be obliged to display each property’s unique ID number in listings — or face penalties. That puts the pressure on thousands of unregistered landlords to get their paperwork in order, fast.
The registry was developed by the Ministry of Housing, led by Isabel Rodríguez, to offer a centralised, electronic process for landlords to legitimise their short-term lets under national, regional, and local regulations. Applications must include detailed property information such as the cadastral reference, rental modality (entire home, individual rooms, etc.), and occupancy limits, among other details.
A first in the EU, but more to come
Spain’s tourist rental registry is the first of its kind in the European Union, created in response to regulations laid out by Brussels in early 2023. The EU-wide objective is to create a network of national platforms that will eventually feed into a continental system before mid-2026.
Officials hope centralised oversight will bring a more “transparent, safe, and reliable” rental market — and help curb widespread abuse of tourist rental laws, which have frustrated long-term housing advocates and local governments alike.
Illegal rentals still rampant in Madrid
Despite the progress, enforcement remains patchy. Spain’s Consumer Affairs Ministry has separately flagged over 15,200 allegedly illegal tourist properties operating in Madrid alone — and has formally requested that the city’s mayor, José Luis Martínez-Almeida, remove those listings from online platforms. The move underscores an ongoing disconnect between detection efforts and sanctions at the municipal level.
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