Goodbye to the internet. Apartment owners have returned to the traditional system of renting to acquaintances and references to avoid the complications that have increased with the new housing law: a tenant who ends up being delinquent and the agency commission, which now has to pay the property. “Many people, even those who would be good tenants, can no longer find a rental apartment,” says Òscar Gorgues, manager of the Barcelona Urban Property Chamber.
According to a study carried out by the Cambra with data from the Fotocasa, Habitaclia and Idealista portals, housing rental advertisements in the capital have been reduced on average by 59% compared to five years ago. In this last portal, for example, they have gone from 10,423 to 5,260. The signing of contracts, however, does not fall that much: according to the data on deposits deposited in Incasòl, only 10% in the first semester.
“Owners who have a tenant who pays, takes care of the apartment and does not cause problems renew it, and that home is no longer on the market,” says Gorgues. On the other hand, when it is the tenant who leaves, many landlords turn to acquaintances, people referred to by the outgoing tenant himself, to requests presented to doormen or even to waiting lists of candidates who register with real estate agencies. “We have returned to word-of-mouth” summarizes Gorgues.
Renewing a tenant is a more economical option for the owner than looking for another: he saves the agency commission, small maintenance repairs and also does not have the apartment empty on any day. For this reason, on the internet only 12% of the apartments advertised have rents of less than 1,200 euros, when according to the contracts registered in Incasòl the average rent in the city is 1,123 euros per month.
“The owners do not want to put pressure on compliant tenants, and they agree to moderate increases when renewing their contracts,” says Gorgues. In other cases, a “tacit renewal” is even agreed upon: the previous contract is extended for one year and the rent is simply updated, an even simpler option between individuals. “The tenants, furthermore, if the increase is moderate, they accept it because they see that there are few apartments in the portals and they are very expensive.”
The shortage of apartments also raises prices. Gorgues recalled that the city suffers from a growing shortage of apartments for rent, because they are not being built and because many owners have chosen to sell their apartments due to fear of default, occupation and future rent control. “Meanwhile, Barcelona continues to attract people, especially young people, who are looking for jobs. And that demographic pressure, with so little supply, drives up prices,” he concludes.
