Housing rents up 7.6% in Catalonia in first quarter of 2019

The average cost of housing rents went up by 7.6% in Catalonia in the first quarter of this year, compared to the same period in 2018, says the national statistics institute, while the rise was 0.9% higher than in the final quarter of last year.

New housing rents have risen the most in the past 12 months, by 11.9%, with used housing rents rising by 7.2% in the same period. This is higher than the average increase in Spain as a whole, which was 6.8%.

Last month, the government passed a new law to cap rental prices in places with a lack of affordable housing. The legislation allows the authorities to control rents according to established criteria in areas where the rental market is shown to be unstable.

To be declared an unstable rental market and qualify to have the controls applied, a "sustained" increase in the price of rents at a cost for families that is "clearly above the average in Catalonia" must be shown.

The law can also be applied if there is a disproportionate balance between the increase in population and the availability of housing, or if the prices rise significantly above the reference index pricing of the area in question.