Evolution of the Price of Rent in Barcelona After the Pandemic
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The price of rent and its evolution in Barcelona after the pandemic is, in general terms, 4.5% cheaper nowadays
RENTAL PRICE EVOLUTION IN BARCELONA BY NEIGHBOURHOOD
The economic and social crisis caused by covid-19 has led to a significant drop in the price of rented housing in Barcelona over the last year, although in the last four months it has partially recovered.
The data show that the reduction in the price of rent in Barcelona homes, calculated from March 2020 at the height of the pandemic, to March 2021 has exceeded –14%, with a current average price of 15 €/m2. from an all-time high of 17.6 €/m2. reached in May 2020.
If we compute the period from October 2020 to the current October 2021, i.e. the year-on-year rate, this has seen an average drop in rent in Barcelona of just over -4%.
By neighbourhoods of the city, all of them have experienced in the last year a significant decline in rental income, with the Sant Andreu neighbourhood standing out in particular with a decrease of -9.9% (12.1 €/m2.) followed by Nou Barris with -7.1% (11.9 €/m2.) and Horta-Guinardó with -6.7% (12.4 €/m2.).
The Barcelona neighbourhoods that have experienced the smallest drop in prices over the last year are, in order, Ciutat Vella with a stable price and therefore a decrease of 0% and the highest price per square metre 16.7 €/m2. and Sant Martí with a -1% drop (15.2 €/m2.) and Les Corts with -2.3% (14.5 €/m2.).
The next most important in terms of decreases are Eixample with a decrease of -4.2% (15.3 €/m2.) and Gracia with -5.8% (14.6 €/m2.).
Sants-Montjuich (14 €/m2.) and Sarrià-San Gervasi (15.9 €/m2.), have both seen their prices reduced by -4% in the last year from October 2020 to the present.
The average rental price in Barcelona stands at 15 €/m2. in October 2021, compared to 16.3 €/m2. in April 2020, shortly after the pandemic.
However, the trend in the last quarter – July to September 2021 – is the recovery of rental prices in the city of Barcelona as a whole, with a measured increase of +2.3%.REGULATION OF RENTAL PRICES BY LAW
On 22 September, Law 11/2020, which regulates urgent measures to contain rents in housing rental contracts, came into force.
With the aim of regularising the price of rent in Barcelona, this law creates the so-called rental price reference index.
The purpose of this law is to set a limit on the price of rents through this index. Until the enactment of this regulation, the rent reference index was indicative and oscillated between three reference prices: the lower, the upper and the one established for the index.
With the new rental price reference index, the Agència de l’habitatge de Catalunya sets the rules of the game in this market, currently for 27 municipalities.
This index can be consulted using the following form.
The Agency is based on data provided by Incasòl (Institut Català del Sòl), a body that establishes a value per square metre in a given area.
REASONS FOR APPLYING THE REFERENCE INDEX
From the point of view of the Catalan Administration, the price of rent in Barcelona has only gone up and the tendency is for it to go up.
The average increase in the last four-month period from July to October 2021 was 3.7%.
In order to put an end to this trend, the law enacted has defined a “tense housing market area”, made up of the 60municipalities of Catalonia, precisely those areas where the price of rent has risen the most and is expected to rise in the coming months.
The maximum price that can be charged will be that of the last rental contract, as long as it is lower than the price set by the index or the price set by the index.
To determine the rent, the index will be multiplied by the useful surface area of the dwelling as stated in the cédula de habitabilidad (certificate of occupancy).
However, in the opinion of some experts, this rule may have the opposite effect to that intended. If the supply of rental housing is restricted, because some landlords do not accept a rent cap, there will be less choice for renting.
There may also be a temptation to circumvent the rule and agree to rent with the tenant. The problem is that, if the administration detects this or the tenant reports it, the law foresees sanctions for the owner of the property.
In Barcelona, the first sanction has already been imposed on a landlord in the amount of 9,000 euros. The motive was to renew a rent for which he was charging 900 € and raise it to 1,200 €.
Barcelona evolution rent price by neighbourhoods
