Among young Europeans, it is the Spaniards who gain independence the latest. One of the main reasons cited by those who find themselves forced to stay with their parents is lack of access to housing. The issue was brought to the public square this week [since Saturday September 26] by a massive sit-in organized on the Puerta del Sol in Madrid. Spanish youth are facing a difficult wall to overcome: salaries do not cover the rent of housing at current market prices.
Young people in their twenties who have achieved independence live in households with annual incomes exceeding 27,000 euros, according to analysis of microdata from the INE [Spanish National Statistics Institute] living conditions survey. In reality, the income gap between those who have emancipated themselves and those who have not is very small (only a few thousand euros per year), but it hides situations where it is only possible to pay the rent by sharing the expenses with a partner or roommates. “There are many people currently trapped in rental situations, devoting 50, 60 or 70% of their income to this. This effort must be reduced,” explained Housing Minister Isabel Rodríguez on RTVE.
The institutions agree on the diagnosis. “The high efforts to access housing, both for ownership and for rental, are intensifying in large cities and among young people and new residents, groups in which situations of overwork and social vulnerability emerge,” says the Bank of Spain in its latest report. Paying rent at prices imposed by the Spanish market, up almost 90% over the last decade according to the real estate portal Idealista, places young people in a precarious situation at a crucial moment in their lives. This precariousness has consequences that last for decades.
However, over the last ten years, the monetary well-being indicators of the Spanish population have improved. “Fewer people are living below the poverty line, and inequality indicators have decreased. So what is causing this feeling that the economy is not doing so well? Our hypothesis is that the housing factor is behind this,” explains Álvaro Pinto, co-author with José Ignacio Conde-Ruiz of a report for the Fedea research center. “One in six tenants on the market do not classify themselves as poor according to their income, but fall below the poverty line once the rent is deducted,” adds the researcher.
A higher proportion of renters
The share of the Spanish population living in market-rate rentals has increased in recent years, from around 13% in 2014 to 17% in 2025. This means that a growing proportion of society is living in the most financially restrictive housing regime. The monthly rent generally exceeds the repayment of a mortgage for a similar property. Therefore, this money paid each month does not constitute personal capital.
For the part of the population forced to rent, the situation becomes unbearable, as explained by Javier Gil, researcher at the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC), specializing in housing. "Renters, especially younger ones, find that renting takes up a large portion of their income. They work almost entirely to pay the rent." The author of the book Generación inquilina ["Renter Generation" in Spanish] continues: "As prices rise, dependence on unwanted cohabitation or geographical distance increases. Three out of four young workers cannot even emancipate themselves. And once emancipated, it is very difficult to maintain a decent standard of living, precisely because of rental prices."
High rent compresses tenants' savings capacity, explains researcher Álvaro Pinto, a vicious circle with no end. "We cannot access property because we do not meet the conditions to obtain credit. Paying so much in rent makes access to property more and more difficult. This is called the rental trap. Real estate transactions evaporate, because housing prices increase faster than savings capacity. Thus, paying rent perpetuates the rental."
