Catalonia has yet to begin imposing penalties on those who ignore the established rent cap. Although the law has been in effect since 2024, not a single administrative case for exceeding the limit has been opened. The reason lies in the fact that the necessary legal mechanisms have not yet been approved, and the team of inspectors responsible for enforcing the rules will only be fully staffed by December 2025.
This week, the Consumer Protection Agency and the Housing Agency of Catalonia received a collective complaint against 35 real estate agencies. These include major market players who, according to the complainants, are not complying with existing regulations. Some landlords, in an attempt to circumvent restrictions, register long-term apartments as temporary housing, allowing them to set higher prices. Authorities are aware of these schemes and promise to increase oversight.
At the same time, the region is discussing a large-scale program to build new residential housing. Recently, the head of the Catalan government announced plans to construct up to 210,000 apartments to ease pressures on the market. Nearly half of these units will be classified as social housing and will not be available for open sale. Authorities emphasize that the region has never before seen such a volume of housing construction with permanent rental status.
The official responsible for territorial development in Catalonia stated that experts have already identified more than 50 priority sites for new projects. At the same time, the region does not intend to emulate Asian megacities with their dense construction and tiny apartments. The new buildings are expected to have two or three apartments per floor, each covering about 90 square meters. Authorities assure that the housing will be modern, spacious, and equal in quality to private homes.
