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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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The process of awarding a new public housing development, Illa Acer, begins: how can I choose?

The process of awarding a new public housing development, Illa Acer, begins: how can I choose?

11/06/2025 - 20:01

Habitatge. The call for 234 protected homes in the Illa Acer development for those on Barcelona’s Official Register. Applications open from tomorrow until June 26, with a draw to follow.

Barcelona City Council has started today, Wednesday, June 11, the process of awarding protected housing for the new public housing development: the flats of Illa Acer. This promotion enters its final phase to become the future home of more than 230 families registered in the Register of Housing Applicants with Official Protection that meet the established requirements.

The selection of the successful bidders will be made by raffle, as established by current regulations. Below, we detail the key aspects to participate:

1. Two different calls have been published for the promotion of Illa Acer:

a) Illa Acer affordable rental, 172 homes.

b) Illa Acer right surface, 62 homes.

In each call, a few homes have been reserved for specific profiles such as those under 35 years of age, single-parent families, people in need of adapted housing, territorial reserve and, the rest, the general contingent.

2. To qualify for the flats, it is necessary to meet the common requirements of all calls:

a) It is necessary to be registered in the Register of Housing Applicants with Official Protection of Barcelona from before June 10, 2025, included. People registered later on this date may opt for the following calls provided for in other promotions in the city.

b) Be registered in Barcelona at least one year, uninterruptedly, since June 10, 2025.

c) Do not have any housing in property.

d) Submit an application for participation in the call where the requirements are met, before June 26, at 2:30 p.m.

3. It is also necessary to meet the specific requirements of each call:

Affordable rent:

  • Cohabitation units: from 1 to 6 members, except the reservation for children under 35 (which is 1 to 3 members), the reservation for single-parent families (which is 2 to 6 members) and the contingent of need for adapted housing that is 1 to 4 members.
  • To apply for participation, the income must be greater than ‘16,000 (in the case of a member); ‘19,500 (in the case of 2 to 3 members and 2 to 4 members in the case of adapted houses with 2 bedrooms) and ‘29,000 (in the case of 4 to 6 members). In the event of being a successful successful bidder, it will be necessary to accredit an income of the current minimum coexistence unit where the payment of the rent of the rent is not higher than 30% of these.
  • The maximum income must be less than 5 times the weighted IRSC. For the fiscal period 2023 (from 57,367.67, in the case of a member to 63,741.85 ‘, in the case of 4 or more members).

Surface Right:

  • Cohabitation units: from 2 to 5 members.
  • Income corresponding to the fiscal period of 2023 from 25,000 € to 6.5 times the weighted IRSC, that is: 76,884.50 € (2 members) to 82,864.41 € (4 or more members).

4. How and when can I apply for participation?

It can be submitted until June 26, 2025, at 2:30 p.m., through the website of the Register of Housing Applicants with official protection of Barcelona, through the links indicated below:

Steel Island – affordable rental:

https://inscripcions-ajuntament.barcelona.cat/index.php/869355?lang=ca

Steel Island – surface right:

https://inscripcions-ajuntament.barcelona.cat/index.php/521528?lang=ca

You can apply for participation in each of the two calls if you meet the participation requirements. Once the request has been sent, you will receive an email with confirmation of the presentation.

You can apply for participation in each of the two calls if you meet the participation requirements. Once the request has been sent, you will receive an email with confirmation of the presentation.

5. To fill in the application for participation, the number of the applicants register record is required. How can I get it?

The academic record number is found in the participation lists of the two calls ordered alphabetically.

6. How do I know if I can participate in any of the two calls?

You can check if figures in the participation lists mentioned in the previous point. Also, SMS/e-mails will be sent informing of the start of the call for the award of Illa Acer with the link to the website of the Register of applicants for housing with official protection of Barcelona where in the section “Processes of award in progress” the form of the application for participation is included.

People who participate in two calls have been sent an SMS/email and will be reflected in the participation lists twice.

7. If I have not received an SMS/email and I do not appear on the provisional list of joint participants, what should I do?

People who do not appear in the provisional lists of participants do not participate because, in principle, they do not meet the requirements of the calls with the data contained in the Register of Housing Applicants with official protection in Barcelona.

If you do not agree, you must review the participation requirements in the published bases of the calls as well as the data provided in the Registry.

If you find any discrepancy, you can submit the application for participation in the call where you meet the requirements. And, during the period of submission of allegations against the provisional lists of admitted and excluded candidates, you must submit an allegation (with the form that will appear on the Registry website), indicating the following data and attaching the documentation accrediting the corresponding date: name and surname, ID / NIE, number of file of the Register of Applicants, name of the call and reason alleged.

These provisional lists of admitted and excluded will be published on the website of the Register of Housing Applicants with official protection in Barcelona.

8. Can a member’s coexistence units participate in Illa Acer?

They can participate in the call for affordable rental.

9. When are the provisional lists of admitted candidates for the two calls scheduled to be published?

During the first half of next July. The day after its publication, the period of presentation of the allegations will begin.

Illa Acer, 234 public housing

The Illa Acer development, with 234 protected housing that is expected to be delivered during the first quarter of 2026, is located in the Marina del Prat Vermell neighborhood, an area in transformation and key to the development of public housing in the city of Barcelona. Promoted by the Barcelona Municipal Housing Institute (IMHAB), the Illa building combines affordable rental housing –47 with one bedroom, 75 with two and 38 with three – and under surface law regime –48 have two bedrooms and 14 have three – which, in addition, have linked parking spaces. Similarly, 12 homes are adapted for people with reduced mobility. The rental prices will range from 400 to 790 euros per month, and the dwellings in surface area will have a price of  2,400/ €/m², with parking spaces at 960 €/m².  

The promotion has involved a municipal investment of 32.8 million euros and is part of the Living Plan, with which the City Council works to expand the public park and guarantee access to decent and affordable housing.

La Marina, the engine of protected housing in Barcelona

The neighbourhood of Marina del Prat Vermell has established itself as one of the main growth poles of protected housing in the city. In this area in full expansion, the City Council decisively promotes the expansion of the public housing stock. Of the almost 12,000 homes planned in the neighborhood, around 50% will be officially protected.

In the sectors with already approved planning and management, the construction of some 5,300 homes is planned, of which approximately 2,770 will be protected. In the last two years alone, 212 municipal-initiative homes have already been delivered: 180 during 2023 —108 under rent on Cal Cisó street and 32 cohousings promoted by the Llar Jove cooperative—, and 72 more in the summer of 2024, in the social rental building on Ulldecona street.

To this offer must be added the 234 homes of the Illa Acer development, which will be delivered in 2026. At the same time, the operator Habitatge Metròpolis Barcelona has begun the construction of 56 more flats in Cal Cisó street and has a new development of 63 homes in Ulldecona.

Now, 362 homes promoted by Incasòl and Habitatge Metròpolis Barcelona are also underway, as well as 85 more assigned to entities. In addition, 111 more homes will be added when the municipal contest for two promotions in Acer, 2 and Ascó, 17 streets is resolved.