Catalonia Leads Rental Market in Spain but Growth is Slowest

Catalonia is the region with the most rented homes in Spain, with 591,188, but its rental stock grew by only 3% in 2024, below the national average of 3.5%.

The data from the 2024 income tax declaration, made public by the Tax Agency and reported by vozpopuli.com, reveals that Catalonia has the highest number of rental homes in the country, with 591,188 properties. However, the growth of this stock was 3%, the lowest among all autonomous communities, compared to the 3.5% national average.

The report, compiled from the cross-referencing of IRPF data with the Cadastral data, shows that there are just over 2.8 million rented homes in Spain, representing 15.41% of the total stock with cadastral value. This figure does not include Basque Country or Navarre, which have their own regional tax authorities.

The rental housing rate in Catalonia stands at 21%, above the national average but far from the 24% in Balearic Islands, 22% in Canary Islands and Madrid, or the 21% in Catalonia. At the opposite end, Extremadura records the lowest percentage, at 7.87%.

The limited dynamism of the Catalan market contrasts with other regions. The Valencian Community exceeded 6% growth, while Madrid increased by 3.6%. Cantabria, Castilla-La Mancha, Murcia, and Extremadura also approached that figure.

The gross income declared by landlords across Spain amounts to 24.6 billion euros, which, after applying the necessary deductions, results in a net income of around 13.8 billion. These rents could be affected if the acting Government manages to approve its latest rental decrees in the Permanent Deputation of Congress, which were already rejected in the full session of the Chamber.

For Catalan tenants, the situation means that, although the volume of rental homes is the highest in the country, its growth is very limited. This, combined with demographic pressure, keeps the difficulty of finding an affordable apartment, especially in high-demand areas where tax deductions are applied.

The official statistics face a problem of fraud: many landlords negotiate lower prices in exchange for not declaring to the tax authorities, and a portion of tourist and seasonal rentals escape fiscal control. Nevertheless, the data from the Tax Agency is the most reliable reference available.