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Housing Glossary

You will find information here on all topics relating to housing in Barcelona

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

Accrued interest

The interest applied as a penalisation when the debtor does not comply with repayment obligations. The amount must be established in the contract.

Active supermortgage

This allows the client to choose their loan's benchmark index (MIBOR at three months, six months or a year) so that payment can benefit from lower interest rates sooner.

Adaptable instalment

Characteristic of UCI superloans that allow the borrower to not pay one instalment a year for the first three years if there are problems due to holidays, extraordinary expenses, etc.

Advanced cancellation fee

A commission arising from the financial risk involved in the advanced cancellation of an operation. The applied commission compensates the financial institution for its financial losses.

AEDE

Direct state aid for paying the deposit on a property.

Affordable housing

Group of social housing or dwellings from social renovation projects that are sold or rented at below-market prices.

Affordable rent

The cost of renting these dwellings is below market prices after being included in operations concerning the rented flat pool, social renovation or social housing promotions.

Amortisation

Payment made to repay a loan.

Amortisation period

The duration of the loan. The contract establishes the date of the first and last payments. The longer the period, the lower the payments are, but the higher the interest. You therefore pay more in the end. The monthly instalment should not exceed 35% of your net income.

API

Estate agent. A qualified professional who acts as an intermediary between the two interested parties to facilitate the signing of a real estate contract, which can be a rental agreement, a sales agreement or another similar contract. They usually charge a percentage of the sales price as compensation or commission.

Applicant

A citizen who makes a registration application to the Barcelona Social Housing Applicants Registry, and who represents the other members of the dwelling unit included in the application.

APR

Annual Equivalent Rate. Effective annual cost of the mortgage in terms of interest, commissions and the repayment period. To compare loans, it is not enough to just look at the lowest APR, you also have to compare the conditions, the repayment period and the distribution of instalment payments.

Arbitri municipal de plusvàlua

Former denomination of the capital gains tax on landed property.

Assessment

The value of a dwelling certified by a specialised assessment company, in accordance with the mortgage market law. This certificate not only indicates the real value of the property, it also serves as a reference for obtaining the necessary financing.

Authorisation

Document in which the owner authorises the tenant to carry out building work in the dwelling's interior.

Close glossary

Housing offices only offer face-to-face assistance by prior appointment, so check out the “Housing calls you” service here to receive the most appropriate personalised assistance. If you also need assistance in energy rights, book an appointment with an energy-advice point (PAE) by clicking here. On the other hand, if you reside in an IMHAB public dwelling you can consult our contact, management and processing channels here.​

Work gets under way on the Glòries block, the city’s largest public housing project

24/02/2022 - 14:32

Housing. The development consists of four blocks with 238 flats in all, involving a municipal investment of 44 million euros.

Work has started on the four public housing buildings that will make of the Glòries block, the largest project of this type being promoted by a municipal council in the Spanish state. The block will have 238 flats in all, awarded with rents or through a leasehold system and providing homes for at least 800 people. Municipal investment in this project will be 44 million euros, with work to take 30 months.

The development is located on a site delimited by Gran Via de les Corts Catalanes, Pl. Glories and Carrer dels Encants Vells. The development will have two building of six and seven floors, facing L’Eixample, and a further two of nine and ten floors facing Glòries.

The first three floors of the blocks will be joined, leaving an open space on the ground floor which will extend the pedestrian route from Diagonal to Encants. There will also be two inner yards for residents to use, which could act as meeting places, with children’s games, bike parking and more. Besides technical installations the rooftops will also offer areas for people to make use of.

A notable aspect to this project is the strategy to reduce the environmental impact, using wood in the structure of one of the blocks, and also to reduce the energy demand for heating and refrigeration, through passive measures. The buildings will also have green rooftops, mechanisms for reusing grey water and solar panelling to generate renewable energy.

In all, 238 homes will be built, 125 of them as rental properties and 113 with leaseholds, two formulas that guarantee that the land will always remain publicly owned. The flats will have one, two or three bedrooms, and eleven of them will be adapted for people with reduced mobility.

All the homes are to be built taking into account the gender perspective, with any type of hierarchy in the distribution of space to disappear, adapting the flats to new models of families and households. Kitchens, bathrooms and utility rooms will have the same natural light and ventilation as the main spaces in the home, such as living rooms and bedrooms.

Glòries as a centre for public housing

Glòries and its environs, an area in transformation which will include a large green park and infrastructures such as the tram system and the road tunnels, is one of the most important centres for public housing in the city. Between the projects completed and those in progress, Glòries will have 470 publicly owned homes in all.

Besides the Glòries block, the keys have already been handed over for 105 homes with services for the elderly in C/ Ciutat de Granada, and work is also due to be completed this summer on some APROP provisional homes, providing 42 more flats with social rents. In addition, a plot of land in C/ Bolívia will shortly be assigned to a foundation or housing cooperative to build and manage a block of 85 flats with affordable social rents.