The apparent imbalance between supply and demand in the housing rental market in major cities has led to a strange situation. Not only are apartments becoming more expensive, which is very expensive, but the conditions imposed on tenants by landlords and agents are becoming more and more harsh, which is also happening. There are cases when real estate agents already ask for money just to arrange a visit to see the house on site.

It happened in Catalonia too. And that leaves ample evidence of how stressed the rental market is in the country’s major cities.

Visits, payment. Not with these words, but in fact the announcement of a Barcelona-based agency that advertises a 65 m2 penthouse in Santa Coloma de Gramenet, offered for 800 euros per month. In addition to the features and price of the house, the following warning was also made: “Visiting fee 9.90 euros.”

The ad has now been disabled, but an X user previously took a screenshot where the statement is clearly legible. The screenshot is accompanied by a message from the young woman expressing her anger at the possibility of her also being charged for visits in a scarce and tense market where prices are skyrocketing.

From collection to discussionThe Catalan attic case has been repeated by other accounts such as Alt Right España or Pobre Millenial, as well as by various media outlets, including: Catalan Newspaper any The Spanish. In Barcelona Secreta, they went even further, stating that the agency that published the discord message on İdealista only referred to what was stated in the advertisement. The website offers its own text of İdealista’s message, in which it warns of charging for visits.

The truth is that in less than two days its content has created a great stir in the networks; it is remembered that the news overlapped with another news, which clearly reflects how difficult it is to be someone who wants to be a tenant nowadays. Spanish metropolises: in Barcelona, ​​​​there are barely a hundred apartments offered for less than 1,200 euros in the traditional rental market.

A new app? More or less. While it’s a clear indication of how tense the market is, asking for payment to visit a rental apartment isn’t exactly new. At least, that’s what a quick Google search suggests, which returns at least a few references to similar cases over the past few months. In October, for example, elDiario.es interviewed José, who had been trying for seven months to rent an apartment in Madrid.

“The most striking thing,” he said, “was that they wanted me to give a signal just to see one.” In his case, it was not an institution that requested it, but an individual. “They wanted him to carry a banner on the day of the visit.” He kept searching.

Private visits… upon paymentIn March, COPE reported a similar practice, although not entirely consistent with the fee charged for visits to the Santa Coloma de Gramenet penthouse. The chain claimed that there were agencies offering to pay for private visits to a home. The aim: to give the willing tenant more options.

Like? COPE was talking about a certain real estate agent who wanted 350 euros. Once the transfer was approved, the rest of the visits were cancelled. They said the money was returned if the tenant didn’t keep the house.

“There are many of you”Another case that caused excitement at the end of last year was, Influencer Sareur: “Unbelievable but true. A real estate agency in Madrid charges 30 euros per visit, what do you think?”, he posted along with a video of his conversation with an agent about an idealista apartment.

During the meeting, the real estate agent allegedly asked for 30 euros in exchange for arranging a home visit. “There are many of you. So if you don’t pay, someone else will,” he repeated Tick ​​Tocker recreating his conversation with the agency. He assures that the video reflects a “true story” that took place in Madrid.

Concept: ‘visit reservation’. There are conversations on the İdealista forum from a few years ago revolving around the same thing: charging for visiting rental apartments. For example, in 2020, a conversation opened on the same question (“Can they charge me for visiting a rental apartment?”), but its author implies that the realtor is implying more than just a fee for showing the house. What is suggested is a payment similar to that specified by COPE.

“This is like a ‘visit reservation’ that goes before anyone who decides not to pay this amount,” the author explained, noting that the company has assured him that if he does not end up renting the house, he will get the money back. The amount will be deducted from the remaining expenses in the event of him becoming a tenant.

Beyond debateIt may seem strange that there are real estate agents who charge fees to show apartments or demand preferential treatment over other applicants, but ultimately this is just an indication of a larger problem: the huge imbalance between supply and demand in the housing market.

A new study published by World It shows that there are 27 interested parties for every available rental property in Spain, ten more than in 2023. The pressure will be even greater in big cities. In Vitoria, for example, agents and landlords will receive around 70 applications for every available apartment.

Families excluded from the market“The lack of rent is causing many families to feel excluded from the market, both because of prices and competition with other families, and because housing is disappearing rapidly,” Francisco Iñareta of the Idealista portal recently explained to the newspaper 20 Minutes.

Your last comment is not unimportant. Another prominent trend is the “express rental” housing listings in real estate agencies that do not last even 24 hours despite the increase in prices and the tightening of conditions. It is not surprising when you consider how much the available housing stock has decreased in a few years, especially in the areas where demand is highest.

Images | Jorge Franganillo (Flickr)

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