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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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New digital tool to check the legality of tourist lets

19/06/2025 - 18:40

Housing. Barcelona adheres to the state initiative that will enable irregular or unlicensed flats to be detected.

Barcelona is adhering to the digital one-stop-shop on rentals (FUDA), to be activated on 1 July. The tool centralises information on short-term tourist rentals, improving transparency and creating a reliable single census that will facilitate the detection of irregular uses and the deactivation of adverts that do not meet with the regulations.

The regulation makes it obligatory to register all homes used for short-term tourist accommodation on the Single Rental Register. The census will include the exact address of homes, the URL for adverts published on platforms and statistics relating to their activity. Rental platforms will have to provide monthly data on their adverts and verify the obligatory register number in advance.  In the case of invalid or suspended registers, they will have to take down adverts within 48 hours at the most.

Adhering to the FUDA one-stop-shop tool is an initiative by the Ministry for Housing and Urban Agenda, to strengthen inter-administrative collaboration and improve transparency, reducing pressure on the residential market.

End to tourist flat licences in 2028

Barcelona will no longer issue or renew licences for the 10,000 plus tourist lets currently operating in the city, meaning that these will return to the residential market in 2028. This strategy to halt the irregular expansion of tourist lets will now be backed up by this adhesion to the FUDA, ensuring a more regulated and balances model that guarantees the right to housing.