Tanca Tanca

Housing Glossary

You will find information here on all topics relating to housing in Barcelona

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

Accrued interest

The interest applied as a penalisation when the debtor does not comply with repayment obligations. The amount must be established in the contract.

Active supermortgage

This allows the client to choose their loan's benchmark index (MIBOR at three months, six months or a year) so that payment can benefit from lower interest rates sooner.

Adaptable instalment

Characteristic of UCI superloans that allow the borrower to not pay one instalment a year for the first three years if there are problems due to holidays, extraordinary expenses, etc.

Advanced cancellation fee

A commission arising from the financial risk involved in the advanced cancellation of an operation. The applied commission compensates the financial institution for its financial losses.

AEDE

Direct state aid for paying the deposit on a property.

Affordable housing

Group of social housing or dwellings from social renovation projects that are sold or rented at below-market prices.

Affordable rent

The cost of renting these dwellings is below market prices after being included in operations concerning the rented flat pool, social renovation or social housing promotions.

Amortisation

Payment made to repay a loan.

Amortisation period

The duration of the loan. The contract establishes the date of the first and last payments. The longer the period, the lower the payments are, but the higher the interest. You therefore pay more in the end. The monthly instalment should not exceed 35% of your net income.

API

Estate agent. A qualified professional who acts as an intermediary between the two interested parties to facilitate the signing of a real estate contract, which can be a rental agreement, a sales agreement or another similar contract. They usually charge a percentage of the sales price as compensation or commission.

Applicant

A citizen who makes a registration application to the Barcelona Social Housing Applicants Registry, and who represents the other members of the dwelling unit included in the application.

APR

Annual Equivalent Rate. Effective annual cost of the mortgage in terms of interest, commissions and the repayment period. To compare loans, it is not enough to just look at the lowest APR, you also have to compare the conditions, the repayment period and the distribution of instalment payments.

Arbitri municipal de plusvàlua

Former denomination of the capital gains tax on landed property.

Assessment

The value of a dwelling certified by a specialised assessment company, in accordance with the mortgage market law. This certificate not only indicates the real value of the property, it also serves as a reference for obtaining the necessary financing.

Authorisation

Document in which the owner authorises the tenant to carry out building work in the dwelling's interior.

Close glossary

Housing offices only offer face-to-face assistance by prior appointment, so check out the “Housing calls you” service here to receive the most appropriate personalised assistance. If you also need assistance in energy rights, book an appointment with an energy-advice point (PAE) by clicking here. On the other hand, if you reside in an IMHAB public dwelling you can consult our contact, management and processing channels here.​

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  • The social impact of building renovation 

    Renovation policies make the population’s living conditions better, homes more energy efficient and contribute to raising the available housing stock, among other advantages.

    Barcelona’s City Council organized the ‘Renovation Policies in Southern Europe’ session to share information and experiences about these policies and their social impact, in collaboration with the Social Housing Policies Managers Association of Catalonia (GHS), Spanish Association of Public Administrators of Housing and Floor (AVS) and Spain’s School of Registrars.

    Some of the main themes that were addressed during the sessions are the City Council’s Renovation challenges, the pitfalls of cooperation between Administrations, examples of innovative renovation plans and the need to promote energy efficiency, among others.

    By navigating this website you’ll easily find the materials from the session: videos of the statements and the debates that took place, the participants’ presentations and even brief interviews to the experts that participated in the sessions.

    Sessions

    Conferences

    Program Manager at Habitat for Humanity

    General Manager for Housing at Barcelona City Council

    Special advisor to Welfare Secretary General of Greece

    Councilor of the Department of Housing and Local Development of Lisbon

    • Paloma Lombardo

    Spanish School of Property Registrars

    Director of Fondazione Housing Sociale

    Debate

    Moderator: 

    Elisabet Cirici, operations manager at the Institut Català del Sòl

     

    Participants:

    • Besim Nebiu
    • Javier Burón
    • Dimitra Siatitsa
    • Rui Neves Bochmann Franco
    • Paloma Lombardo
    • Giordana Ferri

    Expert’s opinion

    Barcelona’s bid for renovation

    Josep Maria Montaner

    Councillor for Housing and Renovation at Barcelona City Council

    Building renovation: an institutional challenge

    Javier Burón

    General Manager for Housing at Barcelona City Council

    Europe’s public renovation policies

    Sorcha Edwards

    Secretary General at Housing Europe

     

    The effects of renovation in neighborhoods

    Jordi Mas

    Deputy Mayor for Urban Development and Housing of Santa Coloma de Gramenet

    The impact of the crisis on housing in Greece

    Dimitra Siatitsa

    Special adviser of the General Secretariat of Welfare of the Government of Greece

    Renovation and the public housing stock

    Lluís Hosta

    President of Social Housing Managers of Catalonia

    The characteristics of the Spanish housing stock

    Juan Rubio

    Director of the Observatorio Ciudad 3R

    The Property Registry and the control of the social housing park

    Paloma Lombardo

    School of Registrars of Spain

    Energy efficiency in Eastern Europe

    Besim Nebiu

    Program Manager at Habitat for Humanity