The state reference system for the price of rent that has just been published by the Ministry of Housing, and which 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. According to the central government, the situation is totally anomalous and requires shock measures, either through the limit that will be set in tense areas for large holders and some modest owners, or by favoring a renegotiation between lessee and lessor.
Ten homes offered for rent on Idealista in big cities and ten skyrocketing prices, if compared with the official rent index. These are examples chosen at random, but which demonstrate the enormous differences in incomes. In Barcelona, ??the lease of a 119 square meter flat located on Carrer Copèrnic, 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 de Catalunya. The Government was betting on setting a specific figure, but the Central Executive 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 with a price on real estate portals well above the state reference register. In the most sought-after streets, they almost triple the official values. Another example: the lease of a 67 square meter studio on Carrer Puigmartí is offered to Idealista at 2,085 euros per month; the Tax system marks between 667 and 904 euros per month. And a large flat at the end of the Gran Via de les Corts Catalanes is offered on the same portal at 3,488 euros per month, while the rent marked by the state index ranges between 1,257 and 1,774 euros per month.
The entry into force of the first stressed area which will include 140 Catalan municipalities will oblige the quoted rents to refer to the price set by the official index, as long as the property is owned by a large tenant and for new contracts if the house has not been rented in the last five years. Small owners must refer their income 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 request it. According to sources from the Ministry of Housing: Navarre and Asturias. Also some city councils, such as Valencia, and cities in the south of Madrid: Alcorcón, Getafe, Fuenlabrada or Móstoles, add these sources.
The same thing happens in the Spanish capital as in Barcelona: the differences between the state index and the offers on real estate portals are notable. On Carrer Alcalá, in the Quintana district, the rent of a 61 square meter flat is offered on Idealista for 1,200 euros, while the official reference is from 560 to 806 euros per month. Something similar happens just a few meters away, on Carrer Elfo. On Carrer Labrador, in Arganzuela, a 43 square meter studio is listed in the index between 567 and 787 euros, while in Idealista it is advertised at 900 euros per month. And on Carrer González Soto, in Vallecas, another 40-metre flat is offered for 1,100 euros; the index reduces it from 446 to 638 euros.
Valencia is no stranger to the situation. In Carrer Músic Peydró a rent is offered for 1,200 euros when the index marks a maximum of 771 euros per month. In Palma, on Carrer Eusebi Estada, a flat is offered for 1,550 euros, when the index reflects a maximum of 1,100 euros per month. And in Málaga, for a rental on Carrer Eugenio Gross, the reference price would be 660 euros at most, but it is offered at 800 euros per month.