World News | Thousands of Spaniards Protest Housing Crunch, High Rents in Barcelona

Barcelona, Nov 23 (AP) Thousands of Spaniards rallied in downtown Barcelona on Saturday to protest the skyrocketing cost of renting an apartment in the popular tourist destination.

People held up homemade signs in Spanish reading “Fewer apartments for investing and more homes for living”, and “The people without homes uphold their rights.”

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The issue has become one of the leading concerns for the southern European Union country, mirroring the housing crunch across many parts of the world.

The average rent for Spain has doubled in the last decade. The price per square metre has risen from 7.2 euros in 2014 to 13 euros this year, according to the popular online real estate website Idealista.

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The growth is even more acute in cities like Barcelona and Madrid. Incomes meanwhile have failed to keep up, especially for younger people in country with chronically high unemployment.

Protestor Samuel Saintot said he is “frustrated and scared” after being told by the owners of the apartment he has rented for the past 15 years in Barcelona's city centre that he must vacate the premises. He suspects that the owners want him out so they renovate it and boost the price.

“Even looking in a 20- or 30-kilometer radius outside town, I can't even find anything within the price range I can afford,” he told The Associated Press. “And I consider myself a very fortunate person, because I earn a decent salary. And even in my case, I may be forced to leave town.”

A report by the Bank of Spain indicates that nearly 40 per cent of Spaniards who rent dedicate an average of 40 per cent of their income to paying rents and utilities, compared to the European Union average of 27 per cent of renters in that strained economic circumstance.

“We are talking about a housing emergency. It means people having many difficulties both in accessing and staying in their homes,” said Ignasi Martí, professor for Esade business school and head of its Dignified Housing Observatory. (AP)

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