How much does it cost to rent a house in Spain?

In the first three months of the year, Spain has experienced positive variations in the quarterly price of rental housing. Specifically, it closed the first quarter of 2026 with a quarterly increase of 4% and a year-on-year increase of 9.1%, according to data from the Fotocasa Real Estate Index. These increases, observed in March, place the price of rental housing at €14.78 per square meter per month, marking four consecutive years of record highs for this period. This means that renting an 80m² apartment costs an average of €1,128 per month, according to data published in April 2026.

“Tenants are reaching the limit of their ability to pay rent”

“Rental prices reached new all-time highs in March, consolidating a cycle of price increases that has been ongoing since 2022. Although quarterly growth is more moderate than in previous years (which could point to a slight slowdown), this containment does not reflect real market relief, but rather that tenants are reaching the limit of their ability to pay.”

“However, the supply of rental housing remains clearly insufficient, so the market continues to be under pressure. This structural pressure explains why, despite the quarterly moderation, year-on-year increases remain high, at almost 10%, reflecting that the rental market is experiencing a crisis of overpricing,” comments María Matos, Director of Studies and spokesperson for Fotocasa.

How much does it cost to rent an apartment in each Autonomous Community?

The price of renting an 80m² apartment in each autonomous community in March 2026, according to data from the Fotocasa real estate index, ranges from €1,737 per month in Madrid to €602.4 per month in Extremadura.

In March 2026, twelve regions exceeded their peak prices: Madrid at €21.69/m² per month, the Balearic Islands at €19.50/m² per month, the Basque Country at €17.68/m² per month, the Canary Islands at €15.88/m² per month, Extremadura at €7.53/m² per month, Asturias at €12.00/m² per month, the Region of Murcia at €10.43/m² per month, Galicia at €10.43/m² per month, Castile and León at €10.12/m² per month, Andalusia at €12.32/m² per month, the Valencian Community at €14.46/m² per month, and Aragon at €11.45/m² per month.

Next are the Balearic Islands with €19.50/m² per month, the Basque Country with €17.68/m² per month, the Canary Islands with €15.88/m² per month, the Valencian Community with €14.46/m² per month, Cantabria with €13.33/m² per month, Andalusia with €12.32/m² per month, Asturias with €12.00/m² per month, Navarre with €11.94/m² per month, Aragon with €11.45/m² per month, the Region of Murcia with €10.43/m² per month, Galicia with €10.43/m² per month, Castile and León with €10.12/m² per month, La Rioja with €9.64/m² per month, Castile-La Mancha with €8.60/m² per month, and Extremadura with €7.53/m2 per month.

Have rental prices risen or fallen compared to last year?

In the Autonomous Communities, the first quarter of 2026 shows 14 quarterly increases and 16 year-on-year increases.

The order of the quarterly increases is: Cantabria (11.1%), Aragon (6.9%), Madrid (6.7%), Valencian Community (5.9%), Andalusia (5.6%), Castile and León (5.2%), Galicia (5.0%), Region of Murcia (4.8%), Balearic Islands (4.3%), Canary Islands (4.3%), Asturias (2.7%), Extremadura (2.2%), Catalonia (0.9%), and the Basque Country (0.1%).

On the other hand, quarterly decreases occurred in the communities of La Rioja (-3.0%), Navarre (-1.3%), and Castile-La Mancha (-1.1%).

How much does it cost to rent an apartment in each Spanish province?

As for the ranking of prices by province, Madrid, Barcelona, ​​Illes Balears and Gipuzkoa are the most expensive provinces, where the barrier of 19.00 euros/m2 per month is exceeded.

In which Spanish province have rental prices risen the most?

Across the provinces, the first quarter of 2026 saw 42 quarterly increases and 47 year-on-year increases.

The five provinces with the largest quarterly increases are: Cádiz (14.2%), Cantabria (11.1%), Teruel (9.1%), Tarragona (8.7%), and Zaragoza (7.9%). On the other hand, eight provinces experienced quarterly decreases: Cuenca (-11.7%), Ciudad Real (-3.8%), Gipuzkoa (-3.0%), La Rioja (-3.0%), Palencia (-3.0%), Jaén (-2.4%), Navarra (-1.3%), and Ourense (-0.8%).

How much does it cost to rent an apartment in Spain’s main cities?

Regarding the price ranking by municipality, eleven cities exceed the €20.00/m² per month mark, specifically, Calvià costs €24.27/m² per month and Barcelona €23.29/m² per month. Next are Madrid (city) at €22.67/m² per month, Esplugues de Llobregat at €22.51/m² per month, San Bartolomé de Tirajana at €21.74/m² per month, L’Hospitalet de Llobregat at €20.99/m² per month, Badalona at €20.98/m² per month, San Sebastián de los Reyes at €20.72/m² per month, Arona at €20.33/m² per month, Donostia-San Sebastián at €20.23/m² per month, and Sitges at €20.10/m² per month.

On the other hand, the five cheapest cities to rent a home in the first quarter are Baeza with €4.78/m2 per month, followed by Almendralejo with €6.00/m2 per month, Puertollano with €6.17/m2 per month, Linares with €6.64/m2 per month and Úbeda with €6.83/m2 per month.

Of the 173 Spanish cities analyzed by Fotocasa with quarterly variation data in March 2026, the price of rental housing per square meter increased in 75% of them.
In 17 of the cities (10%), the quarterly housing price increase exceeded 10%. The cities with these increases are: Laredo (65.3%), Sanlúcar de Barrameda (61.5%), Águilas (35.1%), Gandía (25.9%), Leganés (25.8%), Getafe (22.4%), Torrent (21.9%), Salou (21.3%), Ayamonte (18.8%), Reus (17.3%), Chiclana de la Frontera (14.1%), Benidorm (13.6%), El Ejido (12.7%), El Puerto de Santa María (12.5%), Zamora (11.3%), Manresa (11.0%), and San Sebastián de los Reyes (10.8%).

On the other hand, the three cities with the largest quarterly decreases are Cuenca (-12.9%), Esplugues de Llobregat (-11.8%), and Altea (-10.6%).