by Dieter W. Heinichen 
At Property National we wanted to ask Adolf of the Tower, a reference professional in the real estate sector, what is your opinion on the rental market, a permanent current issue in a large city such as Barcelona and its metropolitan area.
Property National: As an expert in the real estate sector, what is your opinion on the evolution of the rental market in the residential sector in Barcelona?
From my point of view, there are two sides to take on this issue, which I also believe are currently of conflicting interests, but which inevitably have to reach a reconciliation. A first aspect would be Housing as a necessary good for people's lives, right that is protected in the Article 47 of the Constitution. And the other aspect would be housing as investment property, or that produces returns to the owner.
Regarding housing as a necessary good, taking into account the evolution that will occur in the labor market, which I think is quite pessimistic, new technologies that will supply jobs, the unemployment rate, which is colossal in the sector of youth etc. It is to be expected that the Institutions, and measures are currently being taken, Rent containment law in Catalonia, and a new state law on housing is being finalized, they will regulate so that it is an accessible good.
And on the other hand, there are the investors, who logically seek a return, the maximum possible.
But I believe that with the application of the appropriate and updated measures to the current context, solutions could be found.
Property National: In your opinion, what could these measures be?
Well, they would have to be in several aspects. In the first place, I would distinguish between the houses already built and the houses to be built in new construction, they are two different areas that should be treated differently.
Property National: What would be the measures in each sector?
As for built housing, it would be necessary to legislate more rigorously and with common sense, in order to achieve that balance that I have previously explained.
It is very legitimate that the rents are affordable to the population, since the prices have been evolving upwards, until reaching a level that in an average family, the salary of one of the spouses went in its entirety to the payment of the rent. Can not be.
But it is also not correct that all the measures that are taken are to the detriment of the owners, since, in many cases, they are people who supplement their income with the rent of a flat or two that they have bought with effort and work. of a lifetime.
In order to reconcile affordable rental prices that do not harm the rights of the owners, it would be necessary to approve tax incentives that in some way level the loss of rental income that the rent containment regulations entail would be a good option.
Similarly, these tax incentives could be applied to investors, so that they bet on investing in the city. A city that has always been very attractive to invest in, but lately there has been reluctance on the part of investors. And make no mistake, if there is less economic activity in a city, it falls back in positions.
Also, the cataloging of big fork, having to be more adjusted to reality, who is really a big fork.
With regards to new construction, the regulation of reserving 30% for public housing for promotion, is a measure, with all due respect, impractical. Well, for a promoter, it is a limiting measure, both in the profitability of the investment, and to which clients it is directed.
It is convenient and very necessary build subsidized housing. But, from my point of view, in the first place, aid measures could be taken by the administration, ceding land near the city that is not currently buildable, reclassifying it, to developers, who would build and, through a Plan, would urbanize area. And later it would be very interesting if they were not destined for sale, but for rent, with adequate rents for some modules. In this way, these developments would be profitable for investors and quality housing could be provided to the population, in an affordable rental system.
Ultimately, I think the rental price in Barcelona tends to contain, but it is necessary to apply these incentives and aid to owners and promoters, so that the supply does not slow down.
We at Property National would like to thank Adolfo de la Torre for his responses and his precise analysis of the measures that should be taken in the rental market in Barcelona, an overview that we rarely have the opportunity to enjoy.
