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Barcelona's rental prices fall while other cities rise
The cap on rental prices in Catalonia is beginning to draw a map with very different patterns depending on the municipality. While towns with regulation show more contained trends and even falls in some cases, areas without a cap are recording much sharper increases.
The regulation began to apply in March 2024 in 140 municipalities and was extended a few months later to cover 271. Today, these places account for around 90% of the Catalan population and are subject to the price controls provided for in the Housing Law.
The latest figures from the Generalitat show that the average rent for new contracts stands at 861 euros per month, 0.9% below the level recorded before the cap came into force. Even so, the market remains under pressure and average rents are still higher than in previous years.
The differences emerge when the two models are compared. In regulated municipalities, the average rent for new contracts has fallen by 1.3% since the cap was introduced. By contrast, rents in places without regulation have risen by 9.5% over the same period.
Barcelona is among the cities where rents for new contracts have fallen most, with a drop of 4.7%. L’Hospitalet de Llobregat has also recorded a reduction of 6.2%, while Girona and Lleida show slight falls. Conversely, Badalona, Sabadell and Terrassa have seen increases despite being part of the regulated areas.
The market's behaviour keeps the debate over housing supply open. Critics of the regulation argue that it discourages landlords, while figures for deposits lodged with Incasòl suggest that the number of rental homes continues to grow, albeit more slowly than in previous years.
Experts point out that it is still too early to attribute all the changes exclusively to the price cap. Factors such as movements in interest rates, demand and population growth also influence the market's behaviour and make longer-term analysis necessary.
Renting remains one of Catalunya's major challenges, and the differences between municipalities show that there is no single uniform situation. Developments over the coming months will be decisive in determining whether the regulation succeeds in containing prices without reducing the supply available to people looking for a home.