The Official State Gazette has published the Resolution of the Secretary of State for Housing and the Urban Agenda (MIVAU), which designates 131 additional Catalan municipalities as stressed residential market areas. This measure, which comes into force on 10 October, is in response to a request made by the Government of Catalonia in July of this year.
According to Law 12/2023, of 24 May, on the right to housing, these zones will be in force for three years from the day after its publication. In addition, a ‘large holder’ is defined as any natural or legal person who owns five or more urban properties for residential use in the specified zones.
This new declaration brings the total number of Catalan municipalities classified as stressed residential market areas to 271. In these areas, measures will be implemented in collaboration with the administrations and the private sector to promote the supply of affordable housing. Specific financial measures will also be adopted that could help to contain or reduce rental and sale prices.
Measures to be implemented include the promotion of collaboration with administrations and the private sector, the design of specific financing schemes and the adoption of additional public aid within the existing state housing plan.
The "Sistema Estatal de Referencia del Precio del Alquiler de Vivienda" (SERPAVI), known as the "Índice de Precios de Referencia", is a regularly updated database that provides information on rental prices to landlords and tenants. This index can be consulted through the MIVAU website, offering ranges of reference values for rents based on location and specific characteristics of the dwellings.
Tax benefits for landlords in stressed areas
The Housing Rights Act has created a favourable tax environment for landlords renting their homes in stressed residential market areas. This framework is intended to reduce rental prices and stimulate the supply of affordable housing through the modulation of net rental income. Landlords in these areas can benefit from a 50% reduction in Personal Income Tax (IRPF), with the possibility of increasing this percentage according to different criteria.
Additional incentives include a 90% discount when a new contract is signed with a reduction of at least 5% of the rent of the previous contract. There is also a 70% discount for rental contracts for young people between 18 and 35 years old, and a 60% discount applies in cases where renovation or improvement works have been carried out on the property in the two years prior to the contract. These discounts are part of strategies to encourage the availability of affordable housing and to attract more landlords to participate in the rental market in designated stressed areas.