The Metropolitan Housing Observatory of Barcelona, established to provide both the public and public administrations with the information and tools necessary to evaluate and design housing policies, has released the first results of its work conducted during 2017.
The report reveals concerning results, shedding light on the complex and problematic reality faced by many residents who find it difficult or simply impossible to afford the high rents currently being reached in Barcelona and virtually all other Spanish cities.
According to these findings, 16% of the population in the metropolitan area of the Catalan capital lives in housing that costs more than 40% of their income. This is known as the overburden rate, which indicates the percentage of the population living in households that must spend more than 40% of their income on housing costs—including rent or mortgage payments and associated utilities: water, electricity, and gas.
