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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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Access for young people and public policies at the heart of the conference on housing demand organised by the Observatori Metropolità de l’Habitatge

Access for young people and public policies at the heart of the conference on housing demand organised by the Observatori Metropolità de l’Habitatge

22/02/2024 - 15:53

Housing. Social changes have transformed the demand for housing, and among the applicants, young people are the group with the most barriers to access. This was the context of the conference, which brought together professionals and experts from the sector.

Policies and consensus actions were the cornerstone of the municipal position within the conference ‘Demand and housing needs: today’s challenges for access to decent housing’, which brought together professionals from the public and private housing sector. Joan Ramon Riera, Housing Commissioner of the Barcelona City Council, highlighted the agreement signed between the City Council and the Generalitat, in which the consistory cedes several municipal plots of land for the construction of 1,700 social housing units. This agreement represents the joint effort and consensus on housing, the line of work to be followed in order to act and provide solutions to the current needs of the sector.

In a city stressed by a heterogeneous demand for housing, consensus solutions are needed. This is the direction that the representative of the Consistory has taken. This “glocal” demand, according to Riera, is characterised by the different needs of those who already live in Barcelona and those who want to live in the Catalan capital. In his speech, the commissioner highlighted that of the 800,000 dwellings in the city, 650,000 are primary residences, while the rest are dedicated to non-residential uses such as tourism and professional offices.

For Riera, it is necessary to focus on promoting policies that guarantee access to housing, “which is a duty of the administrations”. To do this, it is necessary to promote prevention and planning, and to strengthen the line of work focused on strengthening “the machinery of rent subsidies”. In this sense, he has also advocated the promotion of a new housing plan for the city council, in order to “interrogate the whole city” (institutions, third sector and private sector).

Finally, in an intervention in the round of open questions after the opening conference by Carme Trilla, the commissioner explained that “the housing policy package is divided into structural and emergency care” and admitted that up to now “there has been a lot of reactive policy and little prevention”.

A multidisciplinary conference

The Centre de Cultura Contemporània de Barcelona (CCCB) hosted these conferences on 20 and 21 February, organised by the Observatori Metropolità de l’Habitatge de Barcelona (O-HB) and the Universitat Internacional Menéndez Pelayo de Barcelona-Centre Ernest Lluch (CUIMPB). Over two days, the conference highlighted how social, political, economic and technological changes have affected housing demand and policies.

The round tables were attended by experts in the field and representatives of public administrations: Spanish Government, Generalitat de Catalunya, Diputació de Barcelona, Barcelona Metropolitan Area (AMB) and Barcelona City Council. On behalf of the Barcelona City Council, Joan Recasens, deputy director of the Municipal Institute of Housing and Renovation of Barcelona (IMHAB), attended alongside the Housing Councillor.

Changing values in relation to housing

On the first day, following the welcome from Margarita León, academic director of CUIMPB-Centre Ernest Lluch, and Carme Trilla, president of O-HB, the conference began with the presentation, which included participation from Marina Berasategui, Secretary of Housing of the Generalitat de Catalunya; Ana María Martínez, delegate deputy of Housing of the Diputació de Barcelona; Miguel Comino, CEO of Housing in the Administration and Territory Area of the AMB; and Joan Ramon Riera, Housing Commissioner of the Barcelona City Council.

The public representatives explained the main housing policies pursued by their respective administrations and agreed that public housing policies must adapt to changes in society: changes in values, cultures, gender perspectives, family models, tenure systems or migration processes. They also mentioned the gap between the income of the population and housing prices, that housing is a fundamental right and that policies in this area have a clear impact on the well-being of citizens.

Youth in focus on the second day

One of the groups facing the greatest difficulties in accessing decent housing is young people. Low wages and skyrocketing rents are obstacles that prevent young people from enjoying emancipation. On the second day of the conference, sessions were held on the state of housing emancipation in Catalonia, the housing situation of young people and housing policies to facilitate their access.

The latter session, entitled ‘A multilevel perspective on housing policies to facilitate access for young people’, was addressed by Joan Recasens, Deputy Director of IMHAB, together with Francisco Javier Martín, Director General of Housing and Land of the Spanish Government; Xavier Roig, Operational Director of the Coordination of Information Systems and Citizen Services of the Housing Agency of Catalonia; David Mongil, Head of the Housing Department of the Diputació de Barcelona; and Amadeu Iglesias, Managing Director of the Metropolitan Institute for Land Promotion and Asset Management (IMPSOL) of the AMB.

Recasens presented a series of data on the city’s youth and the housing sector.

  • 83% of young people in Barcelona live in rented accommodation (compared to 40.1% of the general population), despite the difficulties posed by the large gap between wages and rental prices.
  • On average, young people in the city spend 545 euros per month on housing, which represents 40% of their income. To alleviate this burden, 34% of emancipated young people receive assistance.
  • Of the total young population of Barcelona, 26% (9,360) are registered on the official housing waiting list of the City Council.
  • The average price of the dwellings included in the City Council’s rental pool for young people is 624 euros per month.
  • Among young people, the demand for rented accommodation is much higher than the demand to buy.
  • 27% of young people share flats, although 56% of them would prefer not to.
  • Barcelona’s young population is growing and considers access to housing to be the most important issue.

In terms of measures to promote affordable housing in the city, Recasens referred to the Right to Housing Plan 2016-2025 and direct actions.

Between 2016 and 2023, 6,551 homes will be added to the affordable housing stock thanks to this plan. He also wished to highlight that 30% of the homes built by the City Council are reserved for young people and that between this year and next, this figure will be 250 homes.

During the question and answer session, the IMHAB representative praised the work of the City Council’s Discipline Department in sanctioning empty homes that do not comply with the law.

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