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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.

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Work gets under way on Can 70, Barcelona’s first cooperative housing for the elderly

Work gets under way on Can 70, Barcelona’s first cooperative housing for the elderly

30/09/2025 - 14:11

Housing. The project will include 39 homes and communal spaces to encourage coexistence and combat unwanted loneliness.

Barcelona has started work on Can 70, the city’s first cooperative housing project for elderly people and the first to be built on public land in Catalonia. Located at Via Augusta 375-381, in the Sarrià neighbourhood, the project is promoted by the cooperative Sostre Cívic and will comprise 39 homes distributed in two buildings with communal spaces. The work is expected to be completed by the end of 2027.

The project includes 10 conventional homes and 29 aggregated units combining private spaces with shared kitchens on each floor. Designed by the architectural team Peris+Toral, the buildings feature architectural and sustainable innovation such as the use of compacted earth concrete, prefabricated slabs, galleries oriented to optimise light and ventilation, aerothermal systems and photovoltaic panels to reduce energy consumption.

The development will have two blocks with a ground floor plus four floors for homes, as well as a semi-basement connecting both blocks where the communal spaces will be located, with the aim of opening them to the neighbourhood.

Barcelona City Council granted leaseholds for the plots to the cooperative in 2021 as part of the first stage of the ESAL agreement, which establishes a 99-year leasehold to promote innovative housing models.

Can 70, a project launched in 2015

Can 70 is a pioneering project launched in 2015 by a group of Sostre Cívic members to rethink how to age in community, through workshops, debates and collective reflection in all areas. It is the result of a collective effort aimed at consolidating a new model of cooperative and community housing that promotes dignified and active ageing, as an alternative to traditional care or institutional models.

Fostering cooperative housing in the city

Can 70 is part of the ESAL agreement, signed in 2020 between Barcelona City Council and non-profit organisations with the aim of also expanding the public housing stock through delegated promotion via the social housing sector.

The ESAL agreement already totals five stages and 24 municipal plots granted, with a total of 849 public homes. This figure represents 85% of the agreed commitment, which aims to reach 1,000 homes in 10 years, 60% with rents and 40% with leaseholds. Currently, there are 377 homes under construction in Barcelona and 173 more about to start.

 

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