Rental nightmare in Spain: Average tenant spends almost HALF their salary on rent – with HUGE differences between certain provinces

RENTING is fast becoming untenable in some parts of Spain as it gobbles up an increasingly large proportion of the average salary. 

Tenants spent an average of 43% of their gross salary on rent in 2023 – the highest percentage in the last five years – but the figures belie huge regional disparities.

The most desirable provinces of Spain devour almost two thirds of gross pay, with Barcelona leading the way at a barely-believable 65%.

This is according to a study that crosses the average salaries of job offers on job portal Infojobs and the average rental prices of rental website Fotocasa, for an average 80-square-metre home.

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Renters in the Balearics and Madrid follow closely behind, handing over to their landlord 63% and 62% of their salaries respectively.

Malagueño renters and the heavy expat population will wave goodbye to almost half of their earnings (49%) each month for a roof over their head.

The price of rental housing in Spain ended last year with an annual increase of 5.7% to €11.66 per square metre per month.

Meanwhile, the average gross salary in Spain at the same period stood at €26,245 (€2,187 per month).

The top ten most expensive provinces was concluded with Guipúzcoa (60%); Las Palmas (53%); Vizcaya (52%); Valencia (50%); Santa Cruz de Tenerife (50%); Malaga (49%) and Gerona (48%).

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On the other hand, among the provinces where less gross salary is splash on rent are Ciudad Real (19%); Jaén (21%); Cáceres (21%); Ourense (23%); Albacete (23%) or Badajoz (23%), among others.

In Malaga, rent at the end of 2023 is €13.92 per square metre per month, while the gross salary is €27,418 per year (€2,285 per month). 

The annual cost of rent, according to Fotocasa, is €13,363.

They claim the price of rent is at historical highs with the most substantial increases in the last 17 years and well above the 30% target set by rental control bodies.

“At this time, it is more than ten points above the figure of ten years ago, so inaccessibility has skyrocketed,” María Matos, Fotocasa spokesperson said. 

“Practically throughout Spain, with the exception of just two communities, rental costa are at harmful levels.”

InfoJobs, which published 2.5 million vacancies in 2023, has blamed the rebound in inflation – especially in 2022 on ‘reducing purchasing power and [it] continues to mark the living conditions of workers’.