The generation that cannot pay the apartment rent

The generation with the highest number of university graduates in history is also the generation that cannot own a home. Not even renting, which is always the most affordable option. Only 16% of people aged 18 to 29 have sufficient resources to leave their parents’ home. In 2005, this figure increased to 41.4%.. At that time, the number of young people who could become independent was more than three times that of today. And the math doesn’t work. According to the latest Observatory of Emancipation published by the Spanish Youth Council with December 2023 data, the average young person must spend 93.9 percent of his salary on rent if he wants to live alone. Without counting the expenses.

Data from the National Institute of Statistics (INE) point in the same direction, but are not so extreme. According to their calculations, in 2022, the 16-24 age group received an average gross salary of 1,315.4 euros. For people aged 25 to 34, this figure rises to 1,850.5 euros. With the average rent in Spain close to 950 euros, the former could not afford to live alone without allocating a much higher percentage of the rent. 30% recommended. And the seconds would get harder. Therefore, it is no coincidence that the average age of emancipation in the country is over 30. When they do this, most people choose to share an apartment. Hopefully with a partner or a friend. Mostly with strangers.

‘suite’ for 500 euros

Manual He is 26 years old. He is from Valencia and came to Barcelona a year ago to work in the communications department of a company. It was difficult for him to find an apartment, and given the prices, he soon had to refuse to rent it on his own. “Six people live in the apartment they rent to us on a room-by-room basis,” he says.

Found via app Badi, an online portal offering rooms for rent. The advertisement of one of the people whose house is currently vacant is already appearing on the page again. They describe it as a suite room located in a block in the Sants district and is rented for 500 euros per month. What the ad doesn’t say is this payment will be made in black. “Every month we put the money in an envelope and drop it off in the owner’s mailbox, but we don’t get any receipt,” he explains. “There is a lot of turnover. Every time a person leaves, the rent for their room increases by 30 to 50 euros. There is so much demand that there will always be someone willing to come in,” he says.

The price increase in residential rental contracts was limited to 2 percent annually in 2023 and 3 percent in 2024. However, the law does not impose any limits on room rental. In this particular case, by renting the apartment in this way, the owner earns 3,000 euros per month. “These are rooms that are rented informally, creating very risky situations. But they can be much more lucrative for the owners,” he explains. Ignasi MartiDirector of Esade Social Innovation Institute. “The vast majority of people renting this way do not have a contract,” he confirms.

The average price per square meter in Spain was 12.1 euros in December 2023. This meant an increase of 1.9% compared to November and 2.7% compared to September. If the same month of the previous year is taken as reference, 10.1%According to the price index published by Idealista.

Rents are increasing rapidly all over the country. However, there are also communities that are positioned well above the average. Catalonia stands out as the most expensive city for renting: Barcelona. With an average of 20.5 euros per square metre, it is at an all-time high (since 2006). It is also the most expensive province in Spain, at 17.5 euros per square meter.

Barcelona is followed by Madrid, where the average price per square meter is 17.9 euros on average. Then came San Sebastián (16.8 euros per square meter), Palma (15.4) and Valencia (13.3). The cheapest cities to live in are Zamora (6.2 euros per square metre); Lugo and Ciudad Real (6.6) and Cáceres (6.7).

Insecure owners

WITH IvanHe’s 30 years old, his lease ends in a few months. He has been living on the outskirts of Barcelona for almost five years, in a town he calls home. “I don’t want to leave here,” she says, “but I can’t find a house.” Even with a budget close to 800 Euros. The answer from all the real estate agents he went to was always the same: “We have nothing.”

Owners They do not want to rent their flats.. That’s what they tell you. “They are afraid,” says the owner of one of the local real estate companies, who prefers not to disclose his identity due to the “crisis” situation he says he is experiencing. “We were saved because we managed neighborhood communities. But the market is so bad. Landlords feel unprotected by the law. If tenants don’t pay, it’s very difficult to evict them. No owner wants to risk losing his property,” he argues.

“The first thing to do is to change the housing law to ensure that homeowners have a certain legal security,” says Professor Cunyat. “There are property owners who have empty flats and they don’t put them on the market so they don’t get occupied. Regulations need to be changed to make the process more agile,” he says.

Paying agency fees is another problem for them because now they are the ones who have to pay. Although in most cases they break the law. “Since the new rule came into force, none of the owners of the apartments we rented from the real estate agent have been responsible for the fees,” says the real estate agent. They usually “come to an agreement” with the tenant and thus pay the tenant. Because “if the landlord pays the fee and the tenant decides to leave after six months, to lose money“he argues.

A worker working in another real estate agency, preferring not to disclose his identity in light of these statements, says, “Tenants know that if they do not pay the fee, the landlord will rent the flat to someone else.” And it indicates a type of invoice in which the tenant voluntarily offers to pay management costs.

Rental Home Owners Association (ASVAL) refused to participate in this report after leaving the door open for 10 days.

in focus

Politicians, economists and owners: everyone is now looking at Catalonia. It is the first autonomous community to announce that it will regulate rental prices in distressed areas. It will do this from February in accordance with the provisions of the housing law. The average rental price in the area is one of the highest in Spain. According to Fotocasa data, an average of 1,268 euros is paid for a house of 80 square meters. And not all of them are doing well. sunrise He pays 922 euros a month for a penthouse in Barcelona that has no thermal insulation and no certificate of occupancy. AND Patricia He has been struggling to repair leaks and moisture caused by flooding in his home for a year.

Related news

Limiting rental prices is one of the most discussed and also one of the most controversial proposals. Salvation for some. For others it’s nonsense. “It turns out that such measures work. Supply does not decrease, demand increases,” the union argues. There is a teacher on the other side Cunyat. “Rent control can have the opposite effect of what was intended. If it is made limited, better-conditioned flats will not be brought to market because their owners will not be paid. So only the worst flats will appear.” he argues.

“It’s true that policies such as price regulation can work, but there is evidence in many cities that they are not always positive. We need to test and fine-tune,” he says. Seagull. According to him, municipal councils need to have more authority in housing matters. “Guarantee the owner a portion of the rent from each community’s government or city council,” he suggests.