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TOURISM

Valencia to stop issuing licences to Airbnb-style lets as rents soar past €1,000

Valencia City Hall has unanimously voted to suspend the granting of new licences for tourist accommodation for at least a year, with the potential to be extended to one more, as average rents in all city districts are now over €1,000 a month.

Published: 30 May 2024 09:11 CEST
Valencia to stop issuing licences to Airbnb-style lets as rents soar past €1,000
Property prices in Valencia have increased exponentially, in part due to the proliferation of holiday lets. Photo: Northleg Official/Unsplash

City mayor María José Catalá announced at the end of last week that this was the decision she wanted to take now she has received the support of all the parties that make up the local government.

The suspension will affect anyone wanting to rent out temporary accommodation to visitors, specifically located in buildings of other homeowners and commercial spaces. It will not affect apartments in buildings where all the accommodation has been reserved for tourists.

In the old fishermans’ neighbourhood of El Cabanyal and in the historic centre of the Ciutat Vella, these licences have already been suspended, but now the rule will apply to the entire city and surround areas, including El Palmar, El Saler and El Perellonet, Benimàmet, Carpesa, Poble Nou, and La Punta.

READ ALSO – Moving to Valencia: A guide to the best neighbourhoods to live in

It’s important to note that this new ruling will not affect anyone who has been issued a tourist licence already, this is only for anyone applying for one for the first time. It will also not affect hotels, entire apartment blocks or tourist apartments planned on the first floors with independent access.

The Town Hall has cited the reason for its decision is down to “uncontrolled growth at the expense of the housing stock, which threatens to break the balance that guarantees that Valencia is a city to live in with a quality urban environment”.

The amount of tourist accommodation in the city has also caused rental costs to skyrocket, creating problems for the local population who are struggling to be able to afford to live in the centre.

Valencia has just registered the highest rental prices ever recorded, after costs rose a total of 19.14 percent in just one year, according to the Report on the Valencia Real Estate Market for the first quarter of 2024 by the College of Real Estate Agents (COAPI).

The average rental cost is now up to €13.50 per square metre, meaning the average monthly price exceeds €1,000. In two of the most popular areas – l’Eixample and Ciutat Vella, the average rental price already exceeds €2,000 per month.

The most expensive neighbourhood to rent in is Eixample, with an average of €2,030, compared to €1,132 for the cheapest area of Jesús.

The study also revealed that home purchase and sale prices, which have increased by 10.61 percent in one year with an average of €2,130 per square metre, are the highest they’ve been since 2009.

Spokesperson for COAPI Valencia, Vicente Díez, showed his concern for the market saying that the situation is “more than worrying and alarming”.

Valencia is not the only Spanish city that has suspended granting licences due to overtourism and issues with availability of housing.

Barcelona hasn’t issued any new licences since around 2015 and San Sebastián in the Basque Country has had its ruling in place since March 2023. The town of Altea in Alicante also suspended them earlier this year. 

Many cities also have imposed restrictions on tourist accommodation, either in certain areas or in particular types of buildings, including Madrid, Toledo, Seville, Palma de Mallorca and Tarifa.

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RENTING

When’s the best time of the year to start renting in Spain?

Certain times of the year are better than others to find a rental property, and what can be considered the 'best' time depends on whether you're a prospective tenant or landlord and whether you're looking for affordability or options.

Published: 1 July 2024 12:31 CEST
When's the best time of the year to start renting in Spain?

With rents in Spain soaring in recent years and affordable rental properties in high demand, finding a place to live can seem like a struggle.

This is especially true if you live in one of Spain’s major cities like Madrid, Barcelona or Valencia, where demand is high, supply low, and prices rising.

Knowing when in the year is the best time to rent could help you find a place. But is there a ‘best’ time of year? And what about landlords wanting to rent out their properties?

READ ALSO: The best websites to find student housing in Spain

Although it’s difficult to say there’s a definite ‘best’ time of year to rent, when in the year you should start renting does depend on a few factors. Where in Spain you’re looking, of course, matters because in big cities there will be a surge in availability at certain times of year, whereas in smaller towns there will be less on offer but likely apartments sitting empty year round.

You also need to consider what ‘best’ really means. Does it mean best in terms of availability and opportunity, or in terms of finding the cheapest rents?

September renting season

In Spain as around the world, September seems to be considered ‘best’ time of the year to start renting in terms of availability. It’s the end of summer, and the beginning of a new academic and work year. In terms of the rental market, September in Spain is, like in many countries, the beginning of a new cycle. 

Students tend to try to find a flat in time for the new academic year, which is usually sometime towards the end of September. As such, many begin their search in August or early-September in order to avoid last minute panics and rushes as everyone tries to do the same thing.

Experts say this demand grows even more during the second fortnight of the month as people begin to panic a bit and step up their search.

Generally speaking, rental price data shows that the demand for rental accommodation grows annually during the fourth quarter of the year – that is, in October, November and December. For this reason, it is advisable to try and secure your contract by September and not to do so in that final stretch of the year, when higher demand leads to paying up to €35 more per month on average, according to data cited by El Español.

For example, in Catalonia, the average rental price in 2022 was €779.84 per month, but price records show there was a significant upturn in the fourth quarter of the year, to an average of €815, according to data from the Institut Català del Sòl (Incasòl). Of course, in July 2024 prices will be significantly more than that, but this end of year price squeeze trend is clear.

READ ALSO: ‘The Hunger Games’: Two million university students in Spain fight to find a room

While busiest of course means more competition, it can also mean more opportunity. Due to the fact many people are house hunting in September, it also means it’s the time of year when swathes of one-year leases are up. This is especially true in student areas, as well as properties that cater to seasonal or yearly contracted English teachers and language assistants, and areas close to hospitals and health centres.

So, in terms of renters, getting your apartment by early September seems a smart thing to do in order to avoid the mad rush of students searching for a place to live. You’ll need to be dedicated in your search, but it’s also when there’s likely to be the most apartments freeing up, and doing anything before September seems less likely anyway.

Keep in mind that this is Spain we’re talking about, and during the summer months (in August especially) nobody is really doing much of anything and you may struggle to get potential landlords to even answer the phone, even if their property is advertised online.

Early in the year

However, in terms of finding the most affordable rents, there’s an argument that it’s from January onwards.

Many landlords who didn’t manage to rent their properties during the year tend to adjust prices downwards in January. Some also take advantage of this period to renovate their properties, making them more attractive.

This means that from January until the arrival of spring, say March/April, if you’re lucky you can find cheaper offers, but keep in mind there will probably be less properties on the market overall.

What about renting your property?

If you’re a landlord, however, waiting for the September (or better, January) rush seems a sensible thing to do if you’re trying to earn a little more income. Data from the Google Trends tool cited by rental website Rentuos, for example, shows the highest level of traffic for the keyword “rent flat Barcelona” is concentrated between the end of August and the end of September.

If you’re a landlord, capitalising on this period, or perhaps even waiting a little longer until demand is even higher and supply significantly lower, could be the way to go.

It’s also true that many landlords will try to take advantage of this and renew their contracts every year during the rush periods. In that sense, the ‘best’ time of year to rent seems to be September for both renters and landlords. 

READ ALSO: Has Spain’s Housing Law completely failed to control rents?

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