The Housing Law has caused people to talk. Among its star measures, the cap on rent limits has stood out, which was 2% in 2023 and 3% in 2024. Far from what one might think, this measure has been able to remind landlords that, for By law, they have the right to increase their tenants' rent each year.
And "updating the rent does not seem to be a widespread problem between the parties in the rental," deduces the latest study on the vulnerable consumer and the barriers to access to rental housing from the Organization of Consumers and Users. The tenants' own testimony confirms this: more than two out of three landlords did not usually apply the annual update.
Although the real estate sector has made a lot of noise and has spoken out against the new Housing law, the OCU study shows that 87% of tenants, but also 61% of landlords “somewhat or strongly agree.” ” with imposing a limit on rental prices.
Even so, between 62% and 70% of landlords would not have raised the rent at all during 2023, which makes the measure insufficient on its own to facilitate access to housing.
In general, public opinion considers it as "a temporary option to avoid overheating of incomes", but "it is not an effective instrument to stably correct the price imbalance, because it will affect the shortage of supply," he recalls. the OCU.
Nor are significant "differences in the evolution of prices depending on who governs" observed, except in those cities where employment is mostly concentrated and where sociodemographic changes strain the economic capacity of their inhabitants.
In the third quarter of 2023, the percentage of family income allocated to rent had reached 33%, according to idealista data, and there were ten provincial capitals with a ratio equal to or greater than 30%.
In particular, Barcelona was the one with the most, since Barcelona residents already dedicated 44.5% of their income to paying rent, versus the 38.4% they dedicated a year ago. They are followed by Palma (43.1%), Valencia (39.0%), Málaga (37.8%), Madrid (36.6%) and Alacant (35.5%).
The Bank of Spain recommends that this percentage does not exceed 30%, so that families can reconcile all their expenses well.
Despite these data, the Bank of Spain, in its latest "Report on the financial situation of households and companies", celebrates how the growth of employment and income per employee has increased the income of families in the last period of 2023.
If this continues, it could contribute in 2024 to the revitalization of the rental market, whose limited supply and high demand cornered the most vulnerable profiles for not being able to pay such high rents. Of course, as long as the owners of empty homes contribute to increasing this highly desired supply.
