More than seventy percent of households in the province live in areas that fit the description of stressed rental zones, a pattern that aligns with the forthcoming housing law. The government has sealed agreements with its partners, extending rent controls beyond existing regulatory limits for all leases. The move is meant to curb the rapid price increases witnessed in recent years, a policy that has drawn broad criticism from property owners and real estate agents who fear it will shrink the market and exclude widening segments of the population. Yet supporters argue the restrictions are necessary to prevent an excessive drop in supply and to stabilize rents over time.
Atlas Real Estate Analytics, a respected consultancy specializing in data science tools for the property sector, conducted the calculations used here. The analysis uses postal codes as the smallest defined unit under the new regulations when identifying stressed areas because they align with the census territory framework adopted for delimitation.
The study defines the rent burden as the monthly rent plus expenses that exceed 30% of disposable income, while also noting that average prices rose by three points more than the CPI. The law will trigger automatically only if one of two conditions is met, either requested by city councils or by district administrations, with the declaration rolling out over the next five years in alignment with local governance timelines.
Using the latest available data, Atlas researchers found that 47.8% of the province’s postal codes meet at least one of the criteria, indicating a significant share that would fall under the new framework. As expected, these areas coincide with counties hosting a larger share of the population. In Alicante, about 70.46% of households live in zones that could be categorized as stressed under the forthcoming rules.
Initial projections place Alicante among the provinces where the impact could be most pronounced on paper. Other regions with high potential exposure include the Balearic Islands and Malaga, each with roughly 95% of homes in areas meeting the stressed criteria, followed by Madrid at 89.9%, Cadiz at 83.18%, Barcelona at 80%, Palma at 79.13%, and Valencia at 74.2%.
Sareb owns 1,800 homes in Alicante
On the opposite end of the spectrum, Ceuta, Teruel, and several lesser-populated counties show only marginal shares of homes in stressed rental zones.
municipalities
When looking at municipalities, the coastal towns and large urban centers bear the largest burden. In Alicante city itself, of the 24 postal codes, up to 20 fall into one of the two stressed categories under the law, with rural areas largely excluded. A similar pattern emerges in Elche, where the metropolitan area continues to drive demand that the city cannot fully satisfy.
The metropolitan footprint around Alicante concentrates rental demand in places like Vincent Street, Saint John, and Campello, which absorb a substantial portion of the market that Alicante alone cannot meet.
Municipalities in the Costa Blanca region fall under the stressed-area definition, particularly tourist towns where local residents compete with visitors from across the country and abroad for long-term rentals. This competition tightens availability and pushes prices higher. Dénia, Pedreguer, Benissa, Altea, Calp, Callosa d’en Sarrià, Finestrat, La Nucia, l’Alfàs del Pi, Benidorm, and La Vila are among the municipalities in Las Marinas facing a stressed rental market.
The southern part of the province shows a similar trend, with Santa Pola, Guardamar, Torrevieja, and many areas within Vega Baja experiencing tight markets. Towns such as Redován, Rojales, San Miguel de Salinas, Catral, and Cox also illustrate the pressure across the region.
By contrast, zones with fewer postal codes showing stressed residences tend to be areas less touched by the recent brick revival. Alto y Medio Vinalopó and La Montaña are cited as examples, where municipalities did not meet the criteria to be counted as stressed. In the Vinalopó region and the towns such as Alcoy, Castalla, Biar, and Ibi in the northern area, there is a noticeable gap in eligible zones under the current framework.