Barcelona steps up the fight against illegal tourist rentals

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.

Tourism. The awareness campaign aims to inform residents and visitors about a tool they can use to check whether a tourist flat is properly licensed.

A targeted communications campaign from August to September will step up the city’s fight against illegal tourist rentals (HUT).

The campaign features different types of informative posters in public spaces, along with digital outreach through websites and social media, which also appears in tourists’ countries of origin. A total of 10,400 posters, in Catalan, Spanish and English, have been distributed across the five city districts most affected by tourism: Ciutat Vella, L’Eixample, Gràcia, Sant Martí and Sants-Montjuïc.

A tool to check if a tourist flat is legal

The campaign aims to raise awareness among both residents and visitors that they can help combat illegal tourist rentals by using an online tool to check whether a tourist flat is properly licensed. It’s available on the Flat detector of tourist accommodation website and can be accessed in Catalan, Spanish, English, French and German.

Beyond the awareness campaign, the city is also actively working to crack down on illegal tourist rentals, an ongoing effort that’s made a real impact. Since 2016, over 11,500 fines and nearly 11,600 cease-and-desist orders have been issued, reducing the number of active illegal flats from around 6,000 to an average of just 300 illegal listings detected each month. As a result, nearly 3,900 homes have been recovered for permanent residential use.

It’s important to note that the latest tourism perception survey, from 2024, found that 63.7% of Barcelona residents feel that tourist accommodation causes significant or considerable disruption in their neighbourhoods. In addition, one in four believes there are too many tourist rentals in their area.