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Advertisement in Idealista for the rental of an apartment in Barcelona, with 12 m² of habitable space, for 780 euros per month.
In Barcelona anything goes when it comes to renting or selling an apartment.
The announcement of a tiny room for 350 euros per month in the Poblenou neighborhood has generated a lot of controversy on social networks.
An X user (former Twitter) regretted that such precarious offers existed.
The comments on the publication showed surprise at seeing that 1,746 people had been interested in the space with just a bed and a balcony: “This is no longer conformity, it is desperation.”
Almost a million Catalans are looking for an apartment to rent or sell, according to the latest study by the Metropolitan Housing Observatory (O-HB, in its Catalan acronym).
The report concludes that the average search to find a home takes more than a year, as strong demand collides with low supply.
The price of rentals in the city of Barcelona has hit its ceiling and official data for the third quarter of 2023 indicated that it has risen to an average of 1,171 euros per month.
“We have the highest rental price we have ever had.
And this translates not only into people spending more than half of their salary on paying rent, but more and more families are forced to live in uninhabitable conditions because they cannot access adequate housing.
These are people who live in premises, in ground floors or in basements that do not have a certificate of occupancy,” warns Enric Aragonès, Spokesman for the Tenants' Union of Catalonia.
More information
Waiting for the regulation of rental prices in Catalonia
Real estate portals have a multitude of rental and sale offers in Barcelona.
Among the cheapest offers, in the Nova Esquerra neighborhood of l'Eixample, there is an advertisement for the rental of a studio of 14 square meters built, of which only 12 are habitable: it costs 780 euros per month.
A few months ago a similar controversy arose on the networks over the rental of a 12-meter “penthouse” for 650 euros per month on Travessera de les Corts.
A user reported that “in Barcelona, storage rooms and meter rooms are rented as if they were homes.
The smaller, the more profitable.
Welcome to the jungle
” and attached the link to the offer on Idealista.
On other occasions ships have been announced.
Photograph by Idealista of the rental of a 12 m² habitable “penthouse” for 650 euros per month on Travessera de les Corts.
The problem is not only in the rents.
There are also advertisements for spaces for sale that do not have a certificate of occupancy.
Even so, in the offers they are advertised as an “ideal apartment to make a loft.”
This is the case of the apartment that this newspaper has visited, without identifying itself, on Pintor Josep Pinós Street, in the Horta neighborhood of the city.
The apartment, of 33 square meters, advertised in the “housing” section, is sold for 54,000 euros, but the person showing it explains that, in useful meters, it does not reach 30. The comment on the advertisement is the following: “Local in Bright sale at street level.
Ideal for making a
loft
.
You will never be able to obtain the certificate of occupancy.
You can register at the premises.
Ideal for investment or to live as a couple or single.”
The place has a “bathroom”, just a toilet without a sink or shower, and a kind of room full of rubble.
The place has small elongated windows at the top of the wall.
The commercial suggests a design to “optimize the little space provided by the premises” and emphasizes that all appliances must be electric, because there is no gas supply.
When it comes to selling it, both the advertisement and the seller name it as a property, but when asking for the certificate of occupancy, remember that “even if it says in the advertisement that it is ideal for making a
loft
, it is still the purchase of a premises.” .
“Therefore, it does not have permits of any kind.
It would only be the private use that you would give it, since you do not have any authorization from the City Council.
A City Council will never give you permission to live here.
Another thing is the right you have to use it as you want since it is for private use.”
At all times, the person showing it affirms that this type of property is ideal for couples who do not have much savings because it can be paid off quickly and "then you can rent it, very easily, for more than 600 euros per month."
Idealista announcement of the sale of a premises in the Horta neighborhood in Barcelona.
The supposed 33 square meter home is sold for 54,000 euros (without a certificate of occupancy).
From the Housing area of Barcelona City Council, municipal sources assure that “what is illegal is not advertising it without an ID, but renting it as a home.
The key is to see what type of contract it is.
Perhaps there may be cases in which contracts are made that are not housing, especially when the conditions are precarious.
When the City Council detects or receives information about cases of unsuitability, it can open a process and sanction it.”
Regarding this type of advertisement, Idealista sources argue that “it is the advertisers themselves who fill out the necessary fields about the characteristics of the home.
However, they indicate them under their own responsibility, without Idealista evaluating them at the time of their publication.”
In addition, the digital portal ensures that there is supervision: “Although we do not carry out an exhaustive verification of each advertisement, we do carry out certain supervision tasks.
We ensure that the relationship between the price and the square meters of the properties published is consistent, that the address provided is real and existing, and that the properties advertised as homes have at least a bathroom and kitchen, among other basic requirements for habitability." .
And the same sources add: “In case of having effective knowledge that an advertisement violates the law;
For example, if there is no occupancy certificate when this is required, we immediately remove said advertisement to ensure regulatory compliance and the protection of our users.
Even so, many offers appear on the real estate portal that do not follow the rules to obtain this certificate.
Some because of the habitable square meters, others because of security permits and others because they do not meet the minimum equipment: kitchen, hot water, doors, windows... In the Sants neighborhood, a mini
loft
of 25 meters built is rented for 750 euros per month. month.
“It is a -1 floor, that is, a basement, so it only has one window that overlooks a light well, but it has no windows facing the street, nor an exterior structure of any kind,” the advertisement reads.
The supposed home does not have exterior ventilation.
Screenshot of a photograph of an Idealista advertisement for the rental of a home in a windowless basement for 750 euros per month.
From the Tenants Union, Aragonès, points out: “This reality happens more and more and goes unnoticed.
We need price regulation that puts an end to increases and causes radical decreases.
In addition, we need a much larger public housing stock.
The opportunities to access an officially protected apartment are very scarce and people do not consider it as a viable option.”
This February, the regulation of rental prices contemplated in the Housing Law proposed by the Government last year is expected to come into force in Catalonia.
Catalonia has asked to apply rent regulation and the rent index is still pending to be agreed upon in order to calculate the price in 140 Catalan municipalities.
With this new law, small owners must apply the price of the last contract.
However, large owners must stick to the established price index.
Tenants, owners and real estate portals await with uncertainty the measures that will be established with the new law.
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