of landlords fear non-payment
· Idealista · Fotocasa · CaixaBank · Banco de España · CJE
1 in 3 renters in Spain is financially over-stretched. The EU average is 20.3%.
Two independent sources confirm prices keep climbing.
Asking rent per m²: Madrid €22.7 (Idealista) and €21.17 (Fotocasa); Barcelona/Cataluña €23.8 (Idealista) and €19.38 (Fotocasa); Baleares €18.53 (Fotocasa); National average €14.7 (Idealista) and €14.46 (Fotocasa).
Asking rent per m². Barcelona bar shows Cataluña region (Fotocasa). Baleares: Fotocasa only.
of under-30s' salary needed to rent solo — Spain
Consejo de la Juventud de España · 2025
Not because they don't want to — the numbers simply don't add up.
The rental market is pricing an entire generation out of independent living. Landlords face a shrinking pool of financially capable tenants — which makes verifying the ones who can pay even more critical.
New rental contracts in Lisbon cost twice the national average — and the gap is widening.
Covers new rental contracts only. Existing contracts not included.
of landlords distrust potential tenants
Fotocasa Research · 2025
Up 8 points in one year. The tools most landlords use — payslips, documents, gut feel — can't keep up with a market this tight.
See how Abitamo verifies renters →The average rent in Spain is €1,184/month according to the Observatorio del Alquiler (2025). In per-m² terms, Idealista recorded €14.7/m² (December 2025) and Fotocasa recorded €14.46/m² (February 2026). New rental contracts are rising at 15% year-on-year, and rents have increased by 30% since 2019 (CaixaBank Research).
Madrid asking rents average €22.7/m² (Idealista, December 2025) and €21.17/m² (Fotocasa, February 2026). Barcelona reaches €23.8/m² (Idealista, December 2025), the highest of any major Spanish city. Both cities sit roughly 50–60% above the national average.
According to CaixaBank Research, rents on new contracts have risen 30% cumulatively since 2019. Year-on-year, new contract prices grew 15% in late 2025. The official asking-price index from Idealista recorded 8.5% annual growth in December 2025.
The gross rental yield in Spain reached 7.02% in December 2025, according to the Banco de España — a new record high, up approximately 1 percentage point versus 2024. This reflects rent growth outpacing house price growth in most markets.
Young people under 30 need 92.3% of their salary to afford solo renting in Spain, according to the Consejo de la Juventud de España (2025). As a result, the youth emancipation rate fell to 15.2% in the second half of 2025 — a historic low. Only 1 in 7 young Spaniards lives independently of the parental home.
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