The Recent Rise in Mid-Term Rentals in Barcelona: Causes and Implications

Authors: Carolina Orozco Martinez ID, Fernando Gil-Alonso ID

Recent studies identify an increase in mid-term rentals (MTR) in cities like Barcelona and relate it to the growth of temporary populations and changes in labour dynamics in the post-Covid era. By analysing MTRs registered between 2018 and 2023, this study aims to quantify changes in rents and the number of contracts of this kind in three municipalities in the Barcelona area. The results show that MTRs are concentrated in Barcelona, where their number almost tripled and the average rent grew fivefold over the period analysed. The rise started in 2022, and this coincided with when the law to regulate residential rentals in Spain was announced rather than when it came into force. The shift in properties from the residential market to the barely regulated and more profitable mid-term market, hinders access to housing for the low-income population. This problem underscores the urgent need for the regulation of MTRs.

PDF

25 views

References

Aguilera, T., F. Artioli, C. Colomb 2021. ‘Explaining the diversity of policy responses to platform-mediated short-term rentals in European cities: A comparison of Barcelona, Paris and Milan.’ Environment and Planning A: Economy and Space 53 (7): 1689–1712. https://doi.org/10.1177/0308518X19862286

Arias-Sans, A. 2018. ‘Turisme i gentrificació: apunts des de Barcelona.’ Papers 60: 130–139. https://raco.cat/index.php/PapersIERMB/article/view/339245

Botello-Hermosa, J. M. 2017. ‘Los arrendamientos vacacionales sometidos a la Ley de Arrendamientos Urbanos.’ Pensar - Revista de Ciências Jurídicas 22 (2): 602–620. https://doi.org/10.5020/2317-2150.2017.6677

Boto-García, D. 2022. ‘Heterogeneous price adjustments among Airbnb hosts amid COVID-19: Evidence from Barcelona.’ International Journal of Hospitality Management 102:103169. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhm.2022.103169

Brollo, B., F.  Celata. 2022. ‘Temporary populations and sociospatial polarisation in the short-term city.’ Urban Studies 60 (10): 1815–1832. https://doi.org/10.1177/00420980221136957

Cocola-Gant, A., A. Hof, C. Smigiel, I. Yrigoy. 2021. ‘Short-term rentals as a new urban frontier – evidence from European cities.’ Environment and Planning A: Economy and Space 53 (7): 1601–1608. https://doi.org/10.1177/0308518X211042634

Cocola-Gant, A., D. Malet-Calvo. 2023. ‘The Platformization of Student Housing and the Rise of Mid-Term Rentals. The Case of Uniplaces in Lisbon’. Tijdschrift Voor Economische En Sociale Geografie 114: 431-445. https://doi.org/10.1111/tesg.12560

Colomb, C., N. Gallent. 2022. ‘Post-COVID-19 mobilities and the housing crisis in European urban and rural destinations. Policy challenges and research agenda.’ Planning Practice and Research 37 (5): 624–641. https://doi.org/10.1080/02697459.2022.2119512

Colomb, C., T. Moreira de Souza. 2021. Regulating Short-Term Rentals: Platform-based property rentals in European cities: the policy debates. ​London: Property Research Trust. https://doi.org/10.52915/KKKD3578

Dagkouli-Kyriakoglou, M., S. Tulumello, A. Cocola-Gant, C. Iacovone, D. Pettas. 2022. ‘Digital mediated short-term rentals in the (post-)pandemic city.’ Digital Geography and Society  3: 100028. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.diggeo.2022.100028

Diamond, R., T. McQuade, F. Qian. 2019. ‘The effects of rent control expansion on tenants, landlords, and inequality: Evidence from San Francisco.’ American Economic Review 109 (9): 3365-3394. https://doi.org/10.1257/aer.20181289

Gavilán, Á. 2024. El mercado de la vivienda en España: evolución reciente, riesgos y problemas de accesibilidad..Retrieved 5 December, 2024 from Banco de España https://www.bde.es/f/webbe/GAP/Secciones/SalaPrensa/IntervencionesPublicas/DirectoresGenerales/economia/Arc/IIPP-2024-06-17-gavilan-es-or.pdf

Gestha 2023. Los ‘trucos’ de Hacienda para rastrear y encontrar los alquileres que no se declaran. Sindicato de Técnicos del Ministerio de Hacienda. Retrieved 5 December, 2024 from https://www.gestha.es/index.php?seccion=actualidadynum=1405

Guillén-Navarro, N. 2021. ‘An analysis of the holiday rental issue in Spain.’ Critical Housing Analysis 8 (1): 47–61. https://doi.org/10.13060/23362839.2021.8.1.522

Idealista News. 2024. La oferta de alquiler de temporada se dispara un 55% y la permanente se hunde otro 17%. Retrieved 5 December, 2024 from https://www.idealista.com/news/inmobiliario/vivienda/2024/07/16/818502-la-oferta-de-alquiler-de-temporada-se-dispara-un-55-y-la-permanente-se-hunde-otro

Jover, J., I. Díaz-Parra. 2020. ‘Gentrification, transnational gentrification and touristification in Seville, Spain.’ Urban Studies 57 (15): 3044–3059. https://doi.org/10.1177/0042098019857585

Jover, J., I. Díaz-Parra. 2022. ‘Who is the city for? Overtourism, lifestyle migration and social sustainability.’ Tourism Geographies 24 (1): 9–32. https://doi.org/10.1080/14616688.2020.1713878

Llaneza-Hesse, C., J. Raya-Vilchés, T. Rondón. 2023. ‘The Resilience of the Medium-Term Rental and the Boom of Digital Nomads’. Retrieved 5 December, 2024 from SSRN https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.4460412

López‐Gay, A., A. Cocola‐Gant, A. Russo. 2021. ‘Urban tourism and population change: Gentrification in the age of mobilities.’ Population, Space and Place 27:e2380. https://doi.org/10.1002/psp.2380

Martens-Jiménez, I. 2021. ‘Propuesta de introducción de nuevos tipos de arrendamientos de vivienda en el Código Civil.’ Revista de Estudios Jurídicos y Criminológicos (4): 49–101. https://doi.org/10.25267/rejucrim.2021.i.4.04

Martinez-Mazza, R. 2024. ‘La crisis de asequibilidad en la vivienda de alquiler: causas, consecuencias y lecciones de política.’ Papers: Regió Metropolitana de Barcelona: Territori, estratègies, planejament, (66): 11-24, https://raco.cat/index.php/PapersIERMB/article/view/429356.

Nalin, A., L. Cameli, M. Pazzini, A. Simone, V. Vignali, C. Lantieri. 2023. ‘Unveiling the Socio-Economic Fragility of a Major Urban Touristic Destination through Open Data and Airbnb Data: The Case Study of Bologna, Italy.’ Smart Cities 6 (6): 3138–3160. https://doi.org/10.3390/smartcities6060140

Nieuwland, S., R, van Melik. 2020. ‘Regulating Airbnb: how cities deal with perceived negative externalities of short-term rentals.’ Current Issues in Tourism 23 (7): 811–825. https://doi.org/10.1080/13683500.2018.1504899

Observatori Metropolità de l’Habitatge de Barcelona. 2023a. L’habitatge a la metròpoli de Barcelona en el 2022. Retrieved 5 December, 2024 from https://www.ohb.cat/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/informe_2022_VF-1.pdf

Observatori Metropolità de l’Habitatge de Barcelona. 2023b. L’oferta de lloguer de temporada a Barcelona. Informe preliminar. Retrieved 5 December, 2024 from https://www.ohb.cat/project/loferta-de-lloguer-de-temporada-a-barcelona-informe-preliminar/

Observatori Metropolità de l’Habitatge de Barcelona. 2024. L’oferta de lloguer de temporada a Catalunya. Segons dades dels portals immobiliaris. https://www.ohb.cat/project/loferta-de-lloguer-de-temporada-a-catalunya-segons-dades-dels-portals-immobiliaris-1t2019-1t2024/ 

Porcel, S., F. Anton-Alonso. C. Donat. 2022. ‘Exclusió residencial a l’àrea metropolitana de Barcelona: un fenomen complex, un problema creixent.’ Pp. 49-62 in J.C. Migoya-Martínez, J.C. Cap a la metròpoli 2030. Reptes emergents, coneixements innovadors. Anuari metropolità de barcelona 2021. Bellaterra: Institut d'Estudis Regionals i Metropolitans de Barcelona.

Román-Márquez, A. 2014. ‘Las viviendas particulares dedicadas a la actividad de alojamiento turístico. Su exclusión de la Ley de Arrendamientos Urbanos.’ Revista Internacional de Doctrina y Jurisprudencia 6 (128): 1-24. https://doi.org/10.25115/ridj.v3i6.1797

Serrano-García, M. 2020. ‘Alquiler turístico y alquiler de temporada. Diferencias e implicaciones derivadas en España.’ Revista Internacional de Turismo, Empresa y Territorio 4 (1): 125–143. https://doi.org/10.21071/riturem.v4i1.12864

Valente, R., A. Bornioli, S. Vermeulen, A. Russo. 2023. ‘Short-term rentals and long-term residence in Amsterdam and Barcelona: A comparative outlook.’ Cities 136:104252. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cities.2023.104252

Wachsmuth, D., B. Buglioni. 2024. ‘Neither housing nor hotel: The emergence of “medium-term rentals” in post-Covid Canadian cities.’Canadian Planning and Policy Aménagement Et Politique Au Canada 2024(1): 68–89. https://doi.org/10.24908/cpp-apc.v2024i1.16935  

Please, login first to add a comment.
Document Type
article
ISSN
2336-2839
Volume / Issue
11 / 2
Pages
148-160
https://doi.org/10.13060/23362839.2024.11.2.572
Date of publication
12.12.2024
Keywords:
private rented markets , legal aspects of housing, land and planning , metropolitan housing and urban policy , migration, residential mobility and housing policy , residential environments and people

Cite this article

copy
Orozco Martinez, C. , F. Gil-Alonso 2024. ‘The Recent Rise in Mid-Term Rentals in Barcelona: Causes and Implications.’ Critical Housing Analysis 11 (2): 148-160. https://doi.org/10.13060/23362839.2024.11.2.572