Barcelona is experiencing its biggest loss of rental apartments and has already seen a year of price increases.

BarcelonaWhat is the real impact of the price cap on the rental market? Has it managed to lower the price of new contracts or at least contain it? The answer, in accordance with the objective for which it was created, which was to prevent abusive increases during times of high demand or scarcity, is positive: in Catalonia, since the rent cap came into effect in March 2024, the price of new contracts has risen by 0.8% in the municipalities declared to be under pressure, and by 3% in the city of Barcelona.

However, These figures are from the third quarter of 2025The figures, which the Catalan government released this Sunday—published on a public holiday and more than two months later than usual—represent only one part of the picture: the average price of all new regulated contracts. But a closer look at the data reveals something else: since the last month before the cap was applied, that is, the first quarter of 2024, the price of new rental contracts per square meter in the city of Barcelona has increased by 0.63%, according to data on deposits held by Incasòl. But how is it possible that the average price of new regulated contracts has decreased while the average price per square meter has increased? The answer may lie in the size of the apartments, beyond the usual variations in market composition.

The paradigmatic case of Barcelona

The clearest example is the city of Barcelona, ​​the only area for which data on the price per square meter is available. While the Catalan government highlights that the average price of new regulated rental contracts has fallen by 3.4% in a year and a half—a completely accurate statement—it is equally true that, during the same period, the average price per square meter of new contracts in the Catalan capital has increased by 0.63%.

This increase is even more striking if we don't look too far back. In the last year, the price per square meter of rental housing in Barcelona grew by 7%, marking four consecutive quarters of increases. Growth in the third quarter of 2025 was 1.67%. If the price per square meter of rental housing in the Catalan capital was €15.74, it is now €16.84.

The explanation behind this upward trend in rental prices can be found in the size of apartments, which has decreased from 75 square meters in the first quarter of 2024 – the last quarter before the cap came into effect – to 72 square meters in the third quarter of last year.

Historic drop in the number of contracts

After price, the other major issue surrounding the price cap is its impact on the rental supply, specifically whether its implementation will cause changes in the number of active contracts. The fact is that the number of active contracts in the city of Barcelona—the remainder being new contracts (registrations) and expiring contracts (terminations)—has increased since records began. This means that there are more and more rental contracts in force.

However, in the data published yesterday for the third quarter of 2025, Barcelona's rental market suffered its largest drop in the number of active contracts (net), with 244 fewer than the previous quarter, as there were 7,855 new contracts and 8,099 terminations. This drop is the largest since records began – with the exception of the pandemic – as the previous decline was -58 in the third quarter of last year.

The market is transforming

Therefore, the explanation that would summarize these two seemingly contradictory behaviors of the rental price would be that the average price of rental contracts in Barcelona has fallen in a year, but the reason is not because the price is lower, but because smaller apartments are being rented, for which more money is paid per square meter than before.

"At first glance, it might seem that the regulation is working. The average rent in Barcelona in the third quarter stood at €1,153, with a year-on-year increase of 1.7%. This apparent stability could be interpreted as a sign of restraint, but when you analyze the details, the story changes. The price per square meter has increased by 7%," says Òscar Gorgues, manager of the Barcelona Chamber of Urban Property. "Ultimately, people aren't paying the same for the same living space; they're paying more to live in less space. The market hasn't stopped; it's adapted," he adds. Seasonal rentals, with the expectation

Regarding seasonal rentals, the loophole many landlords have found to circumvent the price cap, the number of new contracts fell by 7% from the second to the third quarter of 2025. These figures, along with those for the following quarter—the last of 2025—will be the last without the impact of the regulation approved by Parliament at the end of December. The law aims to prevent the fraudulent use of this type of rental, as well as room rentals, to circumvent the price cap. The initiative, a pioneering one in Spain, passed thanks to votes in favor from the PSC, ERC, Comuns, and CUP parties, clarifies that leases of properties for residential purposes are subject to housing law, regardless of the contract's duration. Only vacation or recreational rentals will be exempt, and these must be documented.