The Generalitat has identified 140 municipalities where it is necessary to apply a limit to rental prices with the mechanism enabled by the Housing law approved in May. The so-called tense areas include all the provincial capitals – Barcelona, Lleida, Tarragona and Girona – and 6.2 million inhabitants, 81% of the Catalan population. With the general elections, the development of the law has been left up in the air, which is why the Government is asking Madrid to make the zones official as tense, as it has the last word. A change of color in the Government could topple it.
Yesterday, the Department of the Territory officially began the legal procedures with the publication of the list, the explanatory memorandum and the criteria that have been used, thus opening the decision to public consultation. There are now 20 days in which administrations, entities and individuals can present allegations. In the documents presented, Territori states that there is a "special risk of an insufficient supply of affordable housing" and "a growing crisis of affordability in the rental market". Sources in the real estate sector agree that the implementation of the law can generate the opposite, as it would limit the supply and therefore increase the prices even more. "The calculation methodology that is used is very debatable and favors the declaration of the largest possible number of stressed areas", criticizes Òscar Gorgues, manager of the Urban Property Chamber of Barcelona. The entity will justly present allegations for the calculation, both for the changes introduced to the methodology and for the use of data that they understand to be out of date, or for adding charges not attributable to the tenant. The Chamber presented a study a couple of weeks ago in which, based on recent official data, Barcelona did not meet the requirements for a limit to be imposed. "It cannot be that references from 2020 and with such restrictive criteria are used", details Gorgues. The result is to paint a good part of the map as a tense area, even Matadepera, one of the richest.
According to the Housing Act, there are two major criteria for declaring a tense area. One, that the average cost of rent, mortgage, basic expenses and supplies exceeds 30% of the average income. The other, that the price of renting or buying has risen in the last five years more than three points above inflation in Catalonia. Based on the calculations, the Generalitat understands that it is fulfilled in the 140 municipalities mentioned. The metropolitan area of Barcelona almost completely, Badalona, Berga, Cervera, Figueres, Matadepera, Puigcerdà, Reus, Roquetes... The list that doubles the 61 municipalities where the Catalan law that ended up being overturned by the Constitutional Court was applied. "The rent limit is ineffective and will go in the opposite direction to what is expected, it will restrict the supply", believes Emiliano Bermúdez, deputy director of Donpiso. According to their data, in 2020, when the Catalan law on the matter was applied, the offer fell between 15% and 19%.
The limit aspires to limit rental prices to prevent them from growing "disproportionately" and to guarantee the right to housing, according to Catalunya Ràdio, Minister for Territories, Ester Capella. In Barcelona, Lloret de Mar, l'Hospitalet or Gavà, 36% or more of income would be used to pay the rent, the highest figure collected by the Generalitat. The politician urged the Government to approve the proposed tension zones before the July 23 general election. In fact, at the end of the 20-day period for allegations, those presented will be resolved and the final resolution will be transferred to the Ministry of Transport, Mobility and Urban Agenda, which must give the final approval. The result of the elections may be vital for the future of the measure, since the PP is considering undoing it if it comes to power.
An area that is officially declared tense will give rise to a freeze on the rental price in new contracts and will establish a reference price index that will have to be respected by large holders, understood as a natural or legal person who has more than 10 properties of 'residential use or surface area greater than 1,500 square meters of residential use. The autonomous regions can lower the limit from 10 properties to 5. The Generalitat is studying whether it is necessary to do so. The index, which will be drawn up by the INE, will be applied from 2025, as rent increases have been limited to 2% this year and 3% next year. "Any restrictive measure reduces supply and has negative consequences", insists Bermúdez.
