How much does it cost to share a flat in Catalonia?

Renting a room in an apartment costs 25% more than it did five years ago, according to a new study

The kitchen area of rental home in Lloret (by Marina López)
The kitchen area of rental home in Lloret (by Marina López) / ACN

ACN | Barcelona

September 8, 2021 02:19 PM

The average price of sharing a flat in Catalonia is currently €328 per month – 25% higher than five years ago.  

Despite the rise over the past half-decade, prices have fallen by 2% in relation to 2020. 

These figures are taken from a new study titled 'Shared housing in Spain in 2021’ by the company Fotocasa, based on the prices of rental housing for the month of June of the last five years. 

In fact, Catalonia is the most expensive territory of Spain to rent a room in a shared apartment, followed by Madrid (€371), the Balearic Islands (€356) and the Basque Country (€350).

Within Catalonia, the study shows that the most expensive city to rent a room in is Barcelona, at €418 per month. 

This is followed by Badalona (€385), L'Hospitalet de Llobregat (€335) and Sabadell (€331). 

By neighbourhood, the most expensive is Ciutat Vella (€468 per month), followed by Sarrià-Sant Gervasi (€465), Eixample (€436); Gràcia (€414) and Sant Martí (€404).

Among the cheapest areas are Nou Barris (€345), Horta-Guinardó (€369), and Sant Andreu (€379).

According to data from the Housing Price Index published by the National Statistics Institute on Wednesday, the price of housing in Catalonia in the second quarter of the year has risen by 3.2% compared with last year. 

The figure shows an even higher jump in prices from the first quarter, which was 1.2%. 

Housing crisis and evictions

Soaring rents have pushed housing to the top of the social and political agenda. Evictions, sometimes with a heavy police presence, are commonplace, despite a moratorium for vulnerable people during the pandemic.

People living in Barcelona are very aware of the city’s housing issue - it has been one of the new Catalan president Pere Aragonès’ priorities, with Esquerra's member promising a new eviction protocol after activists occupied his party HQ on his first day in office. 

In 2020, Barcelona was the city in Spain where evictions were most frequently carried out: a total of 1,028 times, and this figure soared to 1,635 only in the first quarter of 2021. This comes despite multiple municipal, regional and national efforts to alleviate the issue, such as Barcelona’s 8-point housing proposal to protect those at risk of losing their homes.

Have a listen to our podcast from June on the issue below, or wherever you find your podcasts.