Tanca Tanca

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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New agreement to give communities more tools to limit tourist lets

07/10/2025 - 11:37

Housing. The agreement is for 100,000 euros in subsidies allowing for new statutes or updates to existing ones, limiting the use of housing for tourism.

The Association of Property Administrators and the Barcelona Urban Property Chamber have signed a new agreement to encourage owner/tenant communities to draft new statutes or update existing ones to limit the use of housing for tourism and other activities that undermine coexistence. The agreement earmarks 100,000 euros in subsidies to drive these changes, strengthening the residential use of housing.

The subsidies will be shared between three areas. Firstly, up to 4,000 euros in subsidies for both organisations to be able to communities of the legal tools available to them and the benefits of establishing rules on how they function and coexistence.

Up to 36,000 euros is planned to cover the costs of administrators and jurists that help communities to amend their statutes, and the rest, up to 56,000 euros, will be go directly to those same communities which decide to amend them, enabling them to do so.

Besides the financial support, an information campaign is also planned to explain the advantages of updating statutes and the steps needed to do so. Both organisations will be offering advice and training so that people wishing to make the changes get the technical support they need.

The agreement will initially be valid for one year but may be extended for up to four. The measure forms part of the budget agreements with ERC and comes in addition to other initiatives intended to protect the residential use of housing and reduce the impact of tourism in daily life in the neighbourhoods.