Housing

Individuals residing in Barcelona who are holders of a rental contract for a dwelling located in Barcelona that constitutes their habitual and permanent residence provided that they have a low or moderate income that endangers their social integration. In the case of rental contracts effective as of June 1, 2013, it is necessary to accredit compliance with the tenant's obligation to pay the landlord's deposit, by Law 29/1994, of November 24, on urban leases and Law 13/1996, of July 29, on the Registry of deposits for urban property rental contracts, its Regulations, and other concordant provisions. 

Also, the recipients who are in any of the groups regulated below:

• Beneficiaries of the benefits for the payment of rent in the city of Barcelona correspond to the call for the year 2022 (DOGC number 8794 of November 16, 2022, and BOPB of November 14, 2022).

Beneficiaries cannot be persons who, by Article 5.2 of the Consolidated Text of the Regulatory Bases and the Tenth Transitory Provision of Law 5/2012 of March 20, have received the benefit for the payment of rent in the city of Barcelona for 4 successive years, except the beneficiaries of the benefits who on December 31, 2012, were over 65 years of age, which are maintained permanently as long as the conditions by which they had access to the benefit are maintained.

• The beneficiaries of the social emergency economic benefits derived from the mediation in the city of Barcelona for the year 2022 (DOGC number 8624 of March 11, 2022, and BOPB of March 8, 2022).

The beneficiaries must meet the following requirements, in addition to those established in the "Recipients" section:

• Proof of legal residence in Catalonia for five years, two of which must be immediately before the date of submission of the application, except for returned Catalans who meet the requirements established in Article 6 of Law 25/2002, of November 25, 2002, on measures to support the return of Catalans.
• The housing that appears in the rental contract has to be located in the city of Barcelona and has to be destined to the habitual and permanent residence of the applicant, being understood as such the one that constitutes his domicile according to the corresponding municipal census.
• Be registered in the dwelling for which the benefit is requested.
• To be at risk of residential social exclusion by article 72 of Law 18/2007, of December 28, 2007, on the right to housing, and to accredit a weighted income of the cohabitation unit of no more than 2 times the IRSC, in the case of persons living alone, 2.5 times the IRSC in the case of cohabitation units or 3 times the IRSC in the case of persons with disabilities or with great dependency, weighted according to the location of the dwelling and the number of members that make up the cohabitation unit.
• That the percentage of the income of the cohabitation unit destined to the payment of the rents is equal to or superior to 30%.
• Guarantee to be in conditions to continue paying the rents of the dwelling for which the benefit corresponding to their habitual and permanent residence is requested. It is considered that this requirement is fulfilled when it is accredited, at least, with the amount of the granted aid and the monthly income of the cohabitation unit an amount equal to the amount of the rent.
• That the amount of the monthly rent of the dwelling for which the benefit is requested does not exceed the maximum limit of 970 euros.
• To have the payment of the benefit domiciled in a financial entity.
• To pay the rent of the housing for which the benefit is requested using bank transfer or direct debit receipt from a bank account of which the applicant is the holder, deposit in account or receipt issued by the administrator of the property, at least from the month following the date of presentation of the application.

The following individuals are not eligible beneficiaries for these benefits:

• Tenants of properties owned or managed by the Housing Agency of Catalonia or by the Municipal Institute of Housing and Rehabilitation of Barcelona, as well as subsidized housing through public programs.
• Households in which the applicant or any other member of the household owns or holds usufruct of a property, except when they do not have the use and enjoyment of it due to separation, divorce, reasons beyond their control, or when the property is inaccessible due to the disability of the owner or any household member. Ownership or usufruct of a property is not considered if the right applies solely to a pro-rata share of the property and has been obtained through inheritance.
• Households in which the applicant or any other member of the household is related by marriage or other stable analogous relationship, by blood, adoption, or affinity up to the second degree, to the property lessors. This same criterion will also apply to the relationship between the lessor and the lessee, when the lessor is a legal entity, in relation to any of its partners or participants.
• Households in which the applicant or any other member of the household has a taxable savings base in their income tax return (IRPF) exceeding 500 euros are not eligible. This prohibition does not apply if this amount is the result of a deed in lieu of foreclosure as a consequence of a mortgage execution related to a property that constituted the habitual and permanent residence of the applicant.
• Beneficiaries who, in accordance with article 5.2 of the Consolidated Text of the Regulatory Bases and the Tenth Transitory Provision of Law 5/2012, of March 20th, on fiscal, financial, administrative measures, and the creation of the tax on stays in tourist establishments, have received the benefit for rental payment in the city of Barcelona for 4 consecutive years. Beneficiaries of benefits who were aged 65 or older as of December 31, 2012, are exempted, and their benefits will be maintained permanently as long as the conditions that granted them access to the benefit are maintained.

The following documentation must be submitted with the application:

1. General documentation:

a) Valid DNI/NIF/NIE or equivalent document of the applicant.

b) Accreditation of the applicant's legal residence in Catalonia for five years, two of which must be immediately before the date of the application, by presenting the following documentation: 

1. Applicants with Spanish nationality, from a member country of the European Union or another country of the European Economic Area: certificates or flyers from the different municipal registers. Exceptions are those applicants who can prove the requirement of legal residence in Barcelona in the terms established in section b).
2. Other applicants: when the legend "Permanent or long term" does not appear on their NIE, the certificate of residence issued by the foreigners' office or by the national police stations, together with the certificates or flyers of the different municipal registers. 

c) Proof of the income of each one of the persons that form the cohabitation unit in working age presenting:

1. The original and photocopy or certified photocopy of the IRPF declaration of the last closed fiscal year, or in case of not being obliged, certificate of imputations of the last closed fiscal year.
2. Exceptionally, in case of substantial changes that make foresee an increase or decrease of the income, it will be necessary to present the documentation accrediting the income of the three monthly payments previous to the date of presentation of the application of the person/s that have changed, together with the report of the labor life issued by the General Treasury of the Social Security.

d) Rent receipt of the previous month and of the month in which the application is presented.

e) Authorization of the applicant and all persons of working age in the cohabitation unit because the bodies that manage applications may request and obtain data related to the processing and monitoring of the application to other public agencies.

f) If the amount of aid to be granted exceeds €300 per month, the socioeconomic report issued by the municipal social services on the situation of the cohabitation unit must be submitted.

g) Certificate of cohabitation from the City Council of Barcelona certifying the address of the applicant and the people who form the cohabitation unit.

h) The Barcelona Housing Consortium may request any other complementary documentation to expand its knowledge of the application submitted.

i) In case the applicant or another member of the cohabitation unit is a beneficiary of a subsidy or benefit that corresponds to housing aid, the resolution of the granting of the aid with the amount granted must be provided.

j) In the cases of payment of the rent using deposit in account or bank transfer, it will be able to be asked for the accreditation according to the current account in which the rent of the rent is deposited is holder the person owner of the housing or administrator of the property.

2. In case of change respecting the documentation accredited in the previous year's calls regarding benefits for the payment of rent or social emergency economic benefits derived from mediation in the city of Barcelona:

a) Valid DNI/NIF/NIE or equivalent document of the members of the cohabitation unit who have had a change.

b) Original and photocopy or certified photocopy of the family book.

c) Original and photocopy or certified photocopy of the rental contract in the name of the applicant. In the case of rental contracts effective as of June 1, 2013, it is necessary to accredit the fulfillment of the obligation of the lessee to pay the deposit to the lessor.
If the person requesting the benefit who lives in the dwelling is the spouse of the contract holder or is included in the cases regulated by articles 15 and 16 of Law 29/1994, of November 24, on urban leases, he/she must provide documentation accrediting the assignment of the right of use of the dwelling, either by subrogation, by agreement or by separation or divorce decree, or by other legally valid titles.

d) Standardized form, in the name of the applicant, with the bank details of the account where the benefit is to be paid, duly stamped by the financial institution, or bank details form duly signed by the applicant together with a certificate of ownership of the current account, or the original and photocopy or certified photocopy of the bank book.

e) Accreditation from the Department of Social Rights of the Generalitat de Catalunya, in the case of persons with a disability.

f) Single-parent family card.

3. Applicants who authorize the managing body to obtain electronically the data necessary for the management of these benefits and their maintenance, will not need to provide the documentation in sections 1.a) (except the NIE that will have to be provided), 1.c)1., 1.g), 2.a) (except the NIE that will have to be provided), 2.e) and 2.f).

Amount: The monthly amount of the benefit is a maximum of 300 euros and a minimum of 20 euros when the result of the calculations that determine the amount is less than this amount.

If the amount of the benefit calculated based on the income tax return of the closed fiscal year, exceeds the maximum amount established for the call, the income of the last three monthly payments before the submission of the application of all members of the cohabitation unit may be taken into account.

Exceptionally, in cases of risk of residential exclusion duly accredited and provided that there is a favorable report issued by the municipal social services, the maximum monthly amount of the benefit may be increased in the following cases:

• Beneficiaries of the benefit who, with the sum of the amount of the weighted monthly income of the cohabitation unit plus the maximum amount of €300 of the benefit, cannot afford the amount of the monthly rent. In these cases the monthly amount of the benefit is the result of subtracting the weighted monthly income of the cohabitation unit from the amount of the monthly rent, without applying the maximum limit of €300 of point 7.4 of the bases of the call.
• Single beneficiaries of the benefit who in the year of the call are 65 years of age or older, who can prove a disability of 65% or more and with a weighted income less than or equal to 0.95 times the CSRI. In these cases the monthly amount of the benefit is the result of subtracting 30% of the weighted income from the amount of the monthly rent, without applying the maximum limit of 300€ of point 7.4 of the bases of the call.

Term: This benefit is granted for a maximum period of 12 months. With the resolution granting the applications, the right to receive these benefits is recognized as of the month following the date of termination of the effects of the resolution of the file of the previous year's call, provided that at that time the applicant is the holder of the rental contract.

The right to receive this benefit can only be recognized provided that the application meets all the established requirements and provided that there is budget availability to be able to grant it.

The currently open call allows for submitting applications from August 14, 2023, to October 31, 2023, both dates inclusive.

These benefits are incompatible, for the same monthly payments of the current year, with other aids, benefits or subsidies from public administrations or other entities having the same purpose. In case of duplicity of benefits for the same monthly payments, a partial or total revocation will be made according to the duplicity incurred.

The payment of these benefits is conditioned to the availability of budgetary allocations, and to the fact that the Housing Consortium of Barcelona is aware that the beneficiary is up to date with the payment of the rent receipts, using the contribution of the receipts every month.

The justification of payment of the aforementioned receipts will have to be made at the latest within the first fortnight of the month following the payment of the rent. However, at the request of the beneficiary of the benefit, the period of justification may be extended, which may not be later than the date established in point 12.3 of this call. 

The amounts corresponding to the receipts that have not been justified before March 31, 2025, will not be paid to the beneficiaries, which will automatically entail the resolution of partial revocation due to a lack of justification by point 16 of this call.

By Article 72.7 of Law 18/2007, of December 28, 2007, on the right to housing, and with letter h) of Regulatory Basis 7, the payment of the benefit will be made by bank transfer to the financial institution where the person requesting the benefit has paid by direct debit. And it will be paid directly to the person applying for the benefit who is set as the beneficiary in the resolution granting the benefit.