Spain's rental crisis deepens, half of salary goes to housing

2026-06-10 07:31:00, Kosova & Bota CNA

The housing crisis in Spain is reaching alarming levels, with a study by real estate portal Fotocasa showing that renters spent an average of 50% of their salary on rent during 2025.

According to the report, the share of rent in the household budget has increased significantly in recent years, going from 38% of the average salary in 2019 to 50% in 2025. In some regions, the situation is even worse. Madrid leads the ranking, where residents spend up to 71% of their income on housing, followed by Catalonia and other regions with high demand such as the Balearic Islands, the Canary Islands, the Basque Country and Valencia.

The data confirms the deepening housing crisis in the country. According to surveys, rental prices have increased by around 30% since 2022, while the construction of new housing continues to remain at low levels. The data shows that since 2010, only 83,000 homes have been built in Spain per year on average, far fewer than the average of 315,000 homes per year during the period 1970–2010.

Experts also point to the lack of public housing. According to the Bank of Spain, public housing accounts for only 1.5% to 3.3% of the total housing stock, far below the European Union average of 9.3%.

Meanwhile, organizations that protect tenants' rights have increased criticism of the real estate sector, demanding stronger measures to curb price increases and protect families facing economic hardship.

Although some studies present lower figures, experts agree that young people remain among the groups hardest hit by the crisis. According to the Funcas think tank, young people spend an average of 35% of their income on rent, a level that exceeds the one-third income threshold that economists consider affordable.

At the other end of the ranking, the provinces where rent accounts for the least share of income are Jaén, Teruel, Cáceres, Ciudad Real, Albacete, Ourense, Badajoz, Córdoba and Palencia, where housing costs range from 23% to 29% of the average salary.

The continuous increase in prices, the lack of housing supply and the limited stock of public housing are making it increasingly difficult for many Spaniards to find affordable housing, turning housing into one of the country's greatest social and economic challenges./ CNA