‘One rate’ or when life is much more expensive for single people

Not having a partner in Spain has long been synonymous with paying more, especially for housing. And when from year to year the number of single-person households does not stop increasing. According to the most recent Active Population Survey, there are currently more than 5,204,000 National Institute of Statistics (INE). Well, a single person lives in more than one of four residences. The institute itself predicts that there will be 5,712,291 by 2035, or 28.9 percent of the total.

But like cities MadridAccording to the Idealista report for March 2022, the average price per square meter is 15 euros. This represents 2.8 percent more than the previous quarter, with an annual change of 2.6 percent. This means that a one-bedroom apartment of 40 meters costs an average of 600 euros; 50 meters is 750.

The average price in the Centro area is 18.5 euros per square meter; 17.3 in Chamberí; or 15.4 in Tetouan. They are below 11 only in Villaverde (10.8) and Vicálvaro (10.5). Average 16.1 euros in Barcelona.

In Madrid, Hugo paid 800 euros for his apartment in the Lavapiés district. I added around 150 euros for electricity (it had electric heating), 50 euros for internet and 190 euros for parking. So he has just left Madrid to return to his family’s home in Zaragoza. maybe he the only way to save and thus access a file mortgage. “I am either at home or traveling because of my job, so why should I pay more than a thousand euros to live in Madrid?” he explains.

Sharing an apartment in their thirties

“It’s clear that aid should go to the less privileged—continues—but the system pushes you toward a family-only model because those who live alone pay the most”. It guarantees that living with a partner or a roommate will make everything easier. “But I’m not willing to do that at 33”he assures.

VirginiaThe 32-year-old works in the Business Development department of a large law firm. She shares an apartment because if not, “suicide”. “Even though I could afford it financially, I would have been drowning and not have that much money that I currently spend on savings or leisure. All would be rented. I prefer to lead a more comfortable life socially,” she says.

He lives with his two friends. And that helps “always up and never down” when it comes to rental price revisions. This job instability This is another reason why he has not yet taken the step of becoming independent.

The latest ‘Youth in Spain Report 2020’ showed that if in 2010 53.3 percent of youth aged 18 to 34 were still living with their parents, they were in this situation in 2019. 64.5 percent. The keys to salvation they found were the desire to do so and the economic means and stability. “In the INJUVE 2019 Survey, 75% of respondents said they were not liberated for reasons related to lack of income stability,” the document states.

More expensive living in general

However, this economic difference does not just turn into rent. The price (even if the same) between a double room and a single room differs very little. Hotels, the first is used twice, the second one by one, no matter how many times. Also, there are quite a few 2-for-1 deals on travel, “at least for two” meals, and the greater hassle of getting a mortgage with a sole proprietor. And then you need to pay for the furniture.

“Living as a couple is obviously much cheaper because you save on rent, electricity and gas. Also in food expenses. Many products are set up in such a way that the savings format is familiar. The more you buy, the cheaper it will be, but if you live alone everything breaks down for you,” he justified. Mary Rose31 years old.

He is a screenwriter. She pays 650 for her apartment and is the only one of her four siblings, so she gets gifts for two at Christmas. “You do this with all the desire in the world, but you always lose. You touch more as the couple gives a joint gift. And it’s the same for birthdays,” she says.

Office of National Statistics United Kingdom He confirmed these data in 2019. An analysis of people living alone spend an average of 92 percent of their disposable incomecompared to two adult households that spend 83 percent.

Another report from Nielsen, an organization specializing in consumer research and published the same year, noted that households with only one member spend more on food and entertainment than households with two or three members. His expert, Ángeles Zabaleta, later explained that this expense among ‘singles’ could increase by up to 25 percent.

Some tax advantages

On a financial level, marriage is also cheaper. Very generally speaking, the law firm Cremades & Calvo-Sotelo explains that they have access to a joint return deduction in personal income tax. In addition, “because they are members of group II, they receive better financial treatment on certain taxes, such as Inheritance and Endowments, and have lighter financial pressure than those who are more distant or unrelated.”

These tax differences get longer when you have children and it’s time to come to the income statement. In joint statements of family units consisting of underage spouses and adults with disabilities living with unseparated spouses, tax base reduced by 3,400 euros per year. For single-parent families in this situation, the discount is 2,150 euros.

explains carmen flowersA spokesperson for the Federation of Single Mothers’ Associations said in the statement asking for a box for the ‘single-parent family’. “Since 2008, single-parent families of widows with two or more children are high; separated or absent. “There is discrimination based on marital status,” he said.

Discrimination for single parent families

He assures that this discrimination covers many other laws as well. When choosing a public or partner school, cohabitation unit is taken into account. This hurts mothers who live with other people because they cannot afford the costs alone, even if they are the most vulnerable.

“This is something that also happens Minimum Living Income. Because they are in the same house with other people, they cannot reach these benefits. The new Housing Act also does not envisage single-parent families,” he says.

Inequalities extending to housing, as in other cases. “A single person for rent with children is considered to be at higher risk of not paying because the job is unstable and, in the case of women, less secure and less paid. The risk doesn’t have to be real, but real estate agents and landlords think they won’t pay if they’re unemployed as a single person with kids,” she confirms. The same thing happens when applying for a mortgage.

“We live in a system that envisions the traditional family, the era. The rest of the models we ask them to regulate are not designed in the tax system or protection system,” Flores denounced.

They hope that a Family Code will be approved with a section that talks about single-parent families in terms they have claimed since the federation was founded in 1994. That is, reconciliation measures, employment, housing support or anything that makes life a little easier for them, unique and with children, which is already quite difficult economically.