Catalonia is awaiting approval from the central government to implement measures to limit the rise in rental prices in the region.
Three months after the Department of Territory sent the request to the Ministry of Transport to limit prices in 140 municipalities, Catalonia is awaiting authorization to implement these restrictions.
The initiative is part of the new Housing Law, enacted to address the growing problem of rental prices in Spain.
The Catalan Government began the procedures to apply this regulation on June 22, being the only autonomous region to request adherence to this legislation, since the communities governed by the Popular Party have expressed their intention not to apply it.
Waiting for the green light from the government on rental prices
On August 22nd, the Catalan government sent the Ministry of Transport the declaration of stressed residential market areas.
These areas, subject to the approval of the central government, will establish that new rental contracts may not exceed the price of the last contract in force in the last five years.
For large tenants (owners with five or more properties), the rent should not exceed the Rental Price Reference Index.
According to state legislation, once the autonomous community communicates the proposal, the ministry has three months to publish a resolution detailing the declared stressed residential market areas.
The context of rental prices in Catalonia
The measure becomes urgent in Catalonia, where the average rent in the second quarter of 2023 reached 830.3 euros per month, according to data from Incasòl.
Broken down by province, Barcelona leads with an average of 910.8 euros, followed by Girona with 638.3 euros, Tarragona with 570.4 euros and Lleida with 475.4 euros.
In Barcelona, rents continue to grow, reaching 1123.5 euros per month in the second quarter of this year, 3.3% more than the previous quarter and 12.7% more than the previous year.
For this reason, the Generalitat and the municipal government of Barcelona, now led by the Socialist Party, are urging the Spanish government to speed up the application of the regulation. Recently, the Barcelona City Council, with votes in favor of the PSC, requested the Government to allow “immediately” the application of the law.
Legal background and challenges
Catalonia had already regulated rents in 2020 for a year and a half by means of an autonomous law, which was annulled by the Constitutional Court.
The current regulation also faces legal challenges, as the Constitutional Court must rule on the constitutionality of the new state law, admitting in September the appeal filed by the PP and other regional governments.
Solutions are therefore being sought to address the growing pressure on the rental market in the region.
