Housing Law entered its fifth month since implementation. The draft received approval from the Council of Ministers on February 1, 2022, but did not win Congressional approval until April 27 of the current year, and it only took full effect on May 26 after publication in the Civil Servant Bulletin. The new regulation introduces a framework of price caps and safety measures for rental areas, alongside requirements for reporting stress points and evacuation procedures. It also expands support for public housing while attaching new limits on large property owners and empty dwellings. Critics argue the law could feel intrusive, and some observers worry it may unintentionally worsen existing housing accessibility challenges by constraining supply or dampening market activity.
The realization of several measures contained in the standard depends on how autonomous communities or city councils implement them. Administrations led by the People’s Party have signaled they will not enforce the rule within their remit. At present, only Catalonia has submitted a formal request to the Ministry of Transport, Mobility and Urban Agenda to designate 140 municipalities as tension zones. Until clarified, the pathway for the regulation remains constrained and uneven across regions.
Five months after the law took effect, questions arose about its impact on rental availability. Data from Fragua, a real estate analytics platform developed by Atlas Real Estate Analytics, indicates the rental market has remained largely stable, with a marginal uptick of less than one percent in the last 150 days. Across the country, the number of rental properties has hovered between roughly 90,000 and 100,000 over the previous six months.
When examined by provincial capital, including Ceuta and Melilla, available housing increased in some cities and decreased in others, with both trends affecting 26 locales each. The map does not reveal a clear regional pattern, and in the immediate aftermath of the Housing Law’s approval, homeowners did not rush to withdraw properties from the market.
In the six largest Spanish cities by population, a nuanced picture emerges. Madrid, Zaragoza, and Seville each saw notable declines in stock awaiting rental, by about 37%, 28%, and 22% respectively. Barcelona and Valencia have remained relatively steady in recent months. Málaga stands out with a pronounced uptick in availability, rising by around 45%.
Beyond these capitals, the study lists a broad spectrum of changes across numerous cities. Places such as Oviedo, Kalelon, Bilbao, Salamanca, Burgos, Valladolid, Lleida, Lugo, Granada, A Coruña, Palencia, Ciudad Real, Las Palmas, Guadalajara, Palma de Mallorca, Badajoz, Ávila, Vitoria, and San Sebastián each experienced varying shifts in rental stock, ranging from modest declines to significant drops or gains. In several smaller locales, availability stayed almost unchanged, with fluctuations of about 5 percent.
Among the notable regional observations, Soria emerged as a city with the most pronounced rise in rental opportunities, according to Atlas Real Estate’s Fragua report, with the number of advertised rentals increasing by about 1.74 times compared with five months prior. Alongside Málaga, provinces such as Almería, Cuenca, Teruel, and Pontevedra reported substantial gains in rental listings, underscoring a regional diversification in market responses to the new housing policy. (Atlas Real Estate Analytics)