New rental price index for Barcelona
The measure of the Housing Law approved by the Government last May will come into force next February in the 14 municipalities of Catalonia classified as stressed areas.
The Rental Price Reference Index is necessary to regulate prices for large property owners in the so-called stressed zones, who will now be defined as those owning more than five properties.
The Housing Law establishes that all rents in the designated stressed areas will be regulated and capped in all cases. This will apply to both large and small property owners, as well as to rental agreements for properties already in the rental market and new ones.
The caps will be determined, depending on the type of contract and ownership, through indexation to the previous rent in effect for small property owners—who may benefit from tax incentives if they lower rents—and through the application of the Rental Price Reference Index for large property owners to prevent speculation and the hoarding of funds.
These zones can be voluntarily declared by competent authorities when one of the following conditions is met:
– Housing costs represent more than 30% of household income in the area, or
– Prices have risen more than three percentage points above the Consumer Price Index (CPI) in the last five years.
The Urban Leases Law states:
“6. In residential lease agreements subject to this law where the property is located in a stressed residential market area during the validity period of the declaration of such an area under the terms set forth in Law 12/2023, of May 24, on the right to housing, the agreed rent at the beginning of the new agreement may not exceed the last rent of a lease agreement for a primary residence that was in effect in the last five years for the same property, after applying the annual rent adjustment clause of the previous agreement, and new conditions that impose charges or expenses on the tenant not included in the previous agreement may not be established.
An increase beyond the application of the annual rent adjustment clause of the previous agreement, up to a maximum of 10% of the last rent of a lease agreement for a primary residence that was in effect in the last five years for the same property, may only occur in the following cases:
a) When the property has undergone rehabilitation work under the terms of Section 1 of Article 41 of the Personal Income Tax Regulation, completed in the two years prior to the signing of the new lease agreement.
b) When, in the two years prior to the signing of the new lease agreement, rehabilitation or improvement works have been completed on the property, resulting in at least a 30% reduction in non-renewable primary energy consumption, as certified by energy efficiency certificates for the property—one issued before the works, registered no later than two years before the work, and another issued afterward.
c) When accessibility improvements have been completed in the two years prior to the signing of the new lease agreement, duly accredited.
d) When the lease agreement is signed for a period of ten years or more, or includes an extension right that allows the tenant to voluntarily extend the agreement under the same terms and conditions for a period of ten years or more.
7. Notwithstanding the previous section, in lease agreements subject to this law where the landlord is a large property owner, as defined by Law 12/2023, of May 24, on the right to housing, and where the property is located in a stressed residential market area during the validity period of the declaration of such an area under the terms set forth in the aforementioned Law 12/2023, the agreed rent at the beginning of the new agreement may not exceed the maximum price limit applicable under the system of reference price indices, taking into account the conditions and characteristics of the leased property and the building where it is located. The methodological bases of this system, as well as collaboration and data exchange protocols with applicable state and regional information systems, may be regulated.
This same limitation applies to lease agreements for properties located in a stressed residential market area during the validity period of the declaration of such an area under the terms set forth in the aforementioned Law 12/2023, and for which no lease agreement for residential use has been in effect in the last five years, provided this is specified in the resolution of the Ministry of Transport, Mobility, and Urban Agenda, as justified in the declaration of the stressed residential market area.”
