New rental regulation in Catalonia (2024–2025): rent caps, stress zones and temporary contracts

Catalonia has entered a new stage in rental regulation. Over the past year, the region has introduced rent caps in officially designated stress zones, activated a national reference price index, and updated the rules for temporary contracts and room rentals.

For both tenants and property owners, the framework is more complex, but also clearer: the aim is to stabilise prices in the most pressured markets and prevent temporary contracts from being used to bypass residential rental protections.

Stress zones and rent caps

The Spanish Housing Law allows regions to declare “stress zones” in areas where rent costs are disproportionately high or where the market has shown sustained price increases. Catalonia was the first region to implement this mechanism.

Since March 2024, rent caps apply in dozens of municipalities, including Barcelona and much of its metropolitan area. These limits affect:

• New contracts for homes previously rented

• Large landlords (with stricter rules)

• Lease renewals within designated stress zones

The maximum rent is not arbitrary: it is tied to a national reference index that evaluates factors such as location, surface area, building characteristics and market conditions.

The reference index and how it influences pricing

The reference price index, active since 2024, defines a value or range that guides the maximum allowable rent in stress zones. Variables include:

• Property size and usable area

• Location within the municipality

• Building age and energy rating

• Features such as lift, parking, orientation

The index does not remove negotiation, but it narrows the range—especially for large landlords—by preventing sudden increases beyond what the previous contract allowed or what the index recommends.

Temporary contracts and room rentals

While permanent residential contracts are now subject to rent caps in stress zones, temporary rentals have seen rapid growth, partly because they were not previously bound by the same limits.

In Catalonia, the 2024 regulatory updates introduced clearer rules for temporary contracts and room rentals, bringing them closer to residential leases when the actual purpose is long-term use. This includes:

• The need to justify the temporary cause (work, studies, medical treatment, relocation)

• The obligation to apply rent caps in stress zones when the use is residential

• Greater control over duration and conditions to prevent misuse

By contrast, temporary “leisure” or holiday stays follow tourism and municipal regulations rather than residential rental law.

A shift toward tighter control of short-term rentals

At both the state and EU level, legislation is moving toward greater transparency and control of short-term rentals. Regulation (EU) 2024/1028 establishes a digital single-entry point and a registration system for short stays, aiming to track and reduce the use of temporary contracts to avoid residential protections.

Spain is also preparing national regulation for temporary and room rentals that seeks to align these modalities progressively with permanent rental rules when the real purpose is residential occupancy.

What this means for landlords and tenants

For property owners, the updated framework requires:

• Checking whether the property is located in a stress zone

• Reviewing the reference index before setting the rent

• Clearly distinguishing between residential, temporary-residential and holiday rental use

• Documenting the temporary cause when using a non-residential contract

For tenants, the changes bring:

• Greater predictability in rent levels

• More protection against sharp price increases

• Tools to identify when a temporary contract should legally be considered a residential lease

A regulatory landscape still evolving

Rental regulation in Catalonia and across Spain is still evolving. Further adjustments are expected, particularly regarding stress zones, the price index and the treatment of temporary and room rentals.

Rather than memorising every technical detail, the key is to understand the overall direction: price moderation in pressured markets, greater equivalence between temporary and permanent uses, and increased transparency for short-term stays.

Anyone renting, investing or managing a property in Barcelona benefits from staying informed and following the regulatory updates closely.