“BEAUTIFUL for rent and cozy apartment, renovated and very well located“. The photos are blurry, the tiles are from at least the 1950s, and the windows look tall and narrow. They have bars. A ground floor of forty square meters where the feet of people walking on the pavement can be seen. Depending on the type of shoe, you will be able to know whether the weather is cold or hot. Or if you need to leave the house with an umbrella. Sunlight does not shine, but that is not necessary either. When you want to watch a movie, it burns your skin and is reflected on the television screen. This was the argument, broad smile and carefree movement of the potential host when I went to visit him. He told me he lived in a chalet in Las Rozas de Madrid.
Price decided to set it at 1,200 euros per month, free of charge. and the furniture was a mix of shelves she inherited from her great-aunt and an Ikea sale catalogue. Eclectic. Bail is two months. Couples or pets were not allowed, but smoking was allowed in return. Just 50 minutes from nearby Atocha. Price is negotiable depending on the owner.
that flat This was the first of many pilgrimages I took to Madrid together. in the last month. A business-oriented move and an ordinary profile; girl, 27 years old, standard salary. An economic hell filled with scenes of ill-health, which is considered the norm in the Spanish collective imagination when looking at major cities. “It is what it is” as a generalized response to sighs, complaints, disappointments. At least now you’re paying 450 euros a month for a room in a shared flat in the Spanish capital. A room.
What is described here is a common sight in the national real estate market, but it does not limit itself there. Access to housing and related speculation is trending across much of Europe. According to data provided by the HousingAnywhere International rental platform in September, Prices increase across the continent in the second half of 2023, rooms are given special attention. Four walls, a bed, a wardrobe and if you’re lucky, a nightstand worth the price of gold.
It is a topic that is at the center of informal conversations online and in groups of Spanish friends, but still remains overshadowed by the political agenda. By the way, without making too much noise, here are a few messages similar to that of the new Minister of Housing Isabel Rodríguez, who assured at the inauguration that she would protect small property owners. He gets 5,130 per year for rent Based on your last Assets and Income statement. Girl owner.
The sound of houses and their absence is background noise, amplified like the hum of cicadas in summer; family dinners, with friends, at work. And I was sitting there in front of the computer when El Periódico de España asked me to write a first-person history, describing my last journey in search of a home. This, reader this is my journey. Where many people pass every day.
Try to force a smile while talking about you How will they scrap your checking account?. This was the main activity last month. “You cannot bring 500 euros and a friend”, I made an understanding gesture, “do you stay at home on weekends? We like to be quiet and alone (420 euros plus expenses)”, “yes I know you work but I need a guarantee from your family, now you know, due to non-payment (530 euros with a view of the illuminated veranda) “, bovine nods, “can you give us your latest pay stub and last year’s work activities? We request this from everyone”, he responds by showing all his teeth and squinting his eyes. Of course, there would still be a lot to go. Here is my blood, drink it all.
For the first few days, when my eyelids are not yet trembling with fatigue and anger, I think about living alone. Or sharing an apartment with a loved one who is excited to know I’m living in their city again. An idealist’s sweep shatters dreams: 900 Euros per month is the cheapest price the market offers and among the not-so-wide discounts I find a moldy bathroom, a loft where I can’t stand, an apartment with a built-in ‘cagashower’ – said to be services where the shower tray (sometimes a little more) is so close to the toilet (than a hole in the ground), You can use it to have a bowel movement and cleanse yourself at the same time. They call it optimizing spaces, a kitchen without a hood and a floor without blinds. No shutters!.. “Even if we are Central European,” I smile, thinking of the homes of my immigrant friends. The difference is that these were beautiful.
I can’t pay this, I don’t want to pay. So my only option was rooms. “The average rental price in the first half of 2023 is the highest since records have been available: 944 euros per month,” according to data from the latest report of the Observatory of Emancipation of the Spanish Youth Council. Moreover, price increased by 9.3% compared to a year ago and 63.9% compared to the price of rental homes ten years ago. Last year, rooms became 7.1% more expensive.
Let’s continue with the data, I already know how much it costs to rent a roof in a big city like Madrid.Although medium-sized cities such as Valladolid, León or Segovia lag behind with prices. No one is immune from speculative desires, let’s talk about salaries now and how much money those of us looking for rentals make.
According to the data of the same report published on January 16, 2024, in nine of the 17 autonomous communities HE average net salary of a teenager This Less than 1,000 euros per month in 12 payments. Moreover, in only six autonomous communities this youth average salary exceeded the minimum wage in 2023. Wow. And while all this was happening, the average rent for a house in Spain rose rapidly: in six autonomous communities, a young person earning the average wage could not rent a house on his own, even if they devoted 100% of their salary. This, coupled with the huge increase in material prices, has made it almost impossible for a young person to become independent on his own, regardless of his place of residence.
The same report shows that if the average rent for a free house is the previously mentioned 944 euros per month, this figure Represents 93.9% of the most common salary among young people. If we add to this the average monthly material cost of a house of 138.12 euros, the total rent alone, together with the costs of electricity, gas and other materials, will reach 1,082.12 euros per month. So work is a young person’s He will need 76.9 euros to live alone. Not to mention that maybe someone wants to live. Enjoy it a bit. Going to the movies, going out to dinner with friends, or buying clothes also costs money.
We said I’ve decided -As if I had any other choice, I said to myself- for common room. Overall, with the data I have, this will only cost me 30% of my monthly salary. peccadillo And I found a few that I thought wouldn’t make me die of grief, so I said yes, the only thing missing was them telling me that.
This is the final stage of Gymkhana: castings. The demand is so broad that hosts can select profiles as if they were a Tinder date. You must conquer the other person with your incredible charm, beauty and intelligence, so that they will pay a fortune to sleep between your four walls.
I finally did it, my face hurt from smiling so much, when in reality I wanted to get (metaphorically) macheted. I have a place. I pay almost 500 Euros for a room in a third room with no elevator and I live with a lizard that looks like an iguana but isn’t an iguana. Her name is Isis, just like the Egyptian goddess, and she looks at me from her glass terrarium in the mornings. It’s too small for its larger size. Sometimes it tries to escape by scratching its transparent prison with its little paws. He climbs and slides again and again. Then he gets tired and remains motionless for hours, standing like a statue. I look at it and I understand it. We both want a nice house. A suitable house. Nothing else.