The state rental price reference system that has just been published by the Ministry of Housing, and that will be applied in 140 municipalities in Catalonia from the 13th, sinks the rents offered on real estate portals. The differences reach 70% or 1,000 euros per month in some cases. For the Government, the situation is totally anomalous and requires shock measures, either through the cap that will be set in areas under stress for large holders and some modest owners, or by sponsoring a renegotiation between tenant and landlord.
Ten homes offered for rent on Idealista in large cities and ten skyrocketing prices when compared to the official rental index. These are examples chosen at random, but they demonstrate the enormous differences in income. In Barcelona, ??the lease of a 119 square meter apartment located on Copérnico Street, in Sant Gervasi, is offered on the portal at a price of 2,652 euros per month. The Housing reference system reduces it to between 1,117 and 1,621 euros per month.
One of the characteristics of the ministry’s indicator is that it offers a range of reference prices, which is what has caused the discrepancy with the Generalitat of Catalonia. The Government was betting on setting a specific figure, but the Government opted for an indicative maximum and minimum because not all the homes offered have the same characteristics and services.
In Barcelona, ??there are countless rental properties whose price on real estate portals is well above the state reference register. On the most popular streets, official values ??almost triple. Another example: the lease of a 67 square meter studio on Puigmartà Street is offered on Idealista at 2,085 euros per month; The Housing system costs between 667 and 904 euros per month. Or a large apartment at the end of Gran Via de les Corts Catalanes is offered on the same portal at 3,488 euros per month, when the rent set by the state index ranges between 1,257 and 1,774 euros per month.
The entry into force of the first stressed area that will cover 140 Catalan municipalities will force the aforementioned rentals to be referenced to the price set by the official index, provided that the property is owned by a large holder and for new contracts if the home has not been leased in the last five years. Small landowners must reference their rents in these stressed areas to the previous contract.
Only Catalonia has requested the declaration of a stressed area, but other autonomous communities have already shown a willingness to do so. According to sources from the Ministry of Housing, Navarra and Asturias. Also some city councils, such as Valencia, and cities in the south of Madrid: Alcorcón, Getafe, Fuenlabrada or Móstoles, add these sources.
In the capital the same thing happens as in Barcelona: the differences between the state index and the offers from real estate portals are notable. On Alcalá Street, in the Quintana neighborhood, the rent for a 61 square meter apartment is offered on Idealista at 1,200 euros, when the official reference is 560 to 806 euros per month. Something similar happens just a few meters away, on Elfo Street. On Labrador Street, in Arganzuela, a 43 square meter studio is referenced in the index between 567 and 787 euros, while on Idealista it is advertised at 900 euros per month. And on González Soto street, in Vallecas, another 40-meter apartment is offered at 1,100 euros; The index reduces it from 446 to 638 euros.
Valencia is not immune to the situation. On Músic Peydró street, a rental is offered at 1,200 euros when the index marks a maximum of 771 euros per month. In Palma, on Eusebio Estada street, an apartment is offered at 1,550 euros, when the index reflects a maximum of 1,100 euros per month. And in Malaga, for a rental on Eugenio Gross street, the reference price would be 660 euros maximum, but it is offered at 800 euros per month.
