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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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New drive to facilitate access to temporary housing for those with emancipation difficulties

New drive to facilitate access to temporary housing for those with emancipation difficulties

17/05/2022 - 15:11

Housing. The MPGM also seeks to regulate the opening of student residences on land designated for facilities, limiting the surface area for such projects to 7.5% of the overall space available.

The Full Council is set to approve a provisional Amendment to the General Metropolitan Plan (MPGM) on 27 May. The move will regulate sites designated for public facilities which are used for housing with services, as well as the increase in the number of student residences.

The MPGM sets out the general conditions for the implementation of housing with services on sites designated for facilities, with the following goals:

  • Boosting the implementation of housing with services to meet the needs of groups such as young people, the elderly, artists, researchers, vulnerable people etc.
  • Guaranteeing the general interest and avoiding speculation with sites for facilities, preserving them for basic local use.
  • Distributing this type of housing around the city to avoid it being concentrated in one place.
  • Guaranteeing minimum habitability conditions and boosting autonomous accommodation, in other words small independent homes rather than collective residences.
  • Reducing the impact of student residences and avoiding the concentration of buildings with a high density of users.
  • Generating accommodation at affordable prices.

The amendment also does away with the current 5% limit on publicly owned sites for facilities being used for housing with services.

As for privately owned land designated for facilities, the maximum surface volume which can be used for housing with services is 7.5%. Current data show this means a potential 10 hectares which can be developed, which could provide 3,000 homes of this type, either complete dwellings or with new communal spaces.

The distribution of these projects by district will be implemented evenly, avoiding their concentration in one place.

Student residences

This new tool also seeks to regulate the increase in recent years in private student residences built on land designated for facilities. Between existing residences and those planned, there are 79 buildings of this type in the city, with 13,800 places on land for facilities and zonal land, in other words land not earmarked for facilities. Eighteen residences of this type have been processed in the last few years and are in the process of obtaining a licence.

This growth has meant a loss in land designated for facilities and basic services and led to local people rejecting the impact generated in the surroundings. Examples here include the cases identified in Av. Paral·lel and in the 22@.

The MPGM will thus avoids large buildings of this type being located in saturated areas, ensuring local people’s hours of rest and everyday way of life. The distribution of residences will match that in the update to the Special Urban Plan on Tourist Accommodation (PEUAT), meaning they cannot be opened in areas classified as decreasing (city centre) or as maintenance (inner city belt around the city centre), except where tourist accommodation or youth hostels are reconverted.

New residences will only be allowed in the rest of the Barcelona, with a maximum capacity of 3,500 places and limited radial distances between them.

Affordable prices

The approval of the MPGM will be accompanied by a by-law regulating the prices of housing with services and student residences, making them affordable and helping towards quality inclusive housing and equal opportunities.

 

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