The price of new regulated rentals fell by 4.7%, but seasonal contracts soared.
The rental balance is growing, but one in ten new leases is already temporary.
BarcelonaThe price of new regulated rental contracts in Catalonia continues to fall, although the number of new seasonal contracts is growing strongly. This is the first conclusion that can be drawn from the first-quarter data on the Catalan rental market, which show a 4.7% drop in new regulated rentals compared to a year ago (8.9% in Barcelona), but also a 52% increase in the number of new temporary contracts (the increase in the Catalan capital is not yet known). The new figures were announced unexpectedly by the Catalan government this Tuesday, in the usual press conference after the executive council meeting, and come from the deposits made with the Catalan Institute of Land (Incasòl).
This update allows for a comparison of prices and contracts with respect to the last quarter prior to the price cap being implemented, which was in the first quarter of 2024. At that time, rentals were not subject to rent containment, which did not begin to be implemented until mid-March, after the Generalitat (Catalan government) initially declared it. "If previously, seasonal rentals represented 6.1 percent of all contracts signed, now it's 11 percent, five points higher," explained the Minister of Territory, Housing, and Ecological Transition, Sílvia Paneque. This means that one in ten new contracts in Catalonia is seasonal.
No temporary rentals in Barcelona
The Catalan government has not provided data on new seasonal rentals in the city of Barcelona, although the Catalan capital is where this type of contract has proliferated the most. Regarding the price of new regulated rents in the city, it fell by 8.9%, to €1,087 per month, while in the first 140 municipalities declared as stressed, it was 4.9%. However, in the 131 municipalities that were subsequently added to the list, the price rose by 1.2%, and in the remaining municipalities not under stress, it grew by 2.1%.
The increase in new seasonal contracts can be linked to the decrease in the price of new regulated contracts, taking into account that apartments that enter the seasonal market—where the rental price is not capped—are no longer counted as regulated. In response, Paneque stated that it's true that this increase has been detected, and that this "supports" the need to regulate seasonal rentals. In fact, this regulation is currently being processed in Parliament. Following an agreement between the Government and ERC, Comuns and the CUP to approve a housing decree in exchange for the executive branch introducing these changes to seasonal rentals.
Slight increase in current contracts
One of the debates that has emerged since the cap came into effect is whether it will increase or decrease the rental supply. In fact, since the last update, the Catalan government has published the number of current rental contracts, a figure derived from the difference between new contracts signed and those terminated, either because they reach the end of their term or because they end early.
In absolute terms, there are 3,112 more rental contracts in Catalonia than a year ago, according to data published by the Catalan government this Tuesday. In Barcelona, this figure is 420 rental contracts, which would indicate that the number of leases is slightly higher than in the first quarter of 2024. "We are seeing that a large part of the current contracts are extending their duration. This translates into a reduction in terminated contracts and a greater stabilization of the rental situation," Pane argued.