Real estate agencies in Spain have already begun to notice the worrying trend since the approval of new housing decrees only last week, suggesting further issues for those trying to find affordable rental properties in the country.
Spain's National Federation of Real Estate Associations (FAI) has noted a fall in the number of properties available on the Spanish rental market, just days after the Spanish government brought back two key housing bills meant to address the country's housing crisis, especially for renters.
Even though the government’s new housing decrees are still pending final approval from parliament - which is currently dissolved due to the snap election on November 29th - the current housing laws appear to be leading more landlords to take their properties off the market.
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According to the FAI study using data from approximately 600 real estate agencies in major cities, 88.9 percent of of them detected some type of market disruption related to these regulatory changes.
Only 11.1 percent of agencies reported no changes in activity.
The study revealed that 5,758 transactions have been affected in the last 10 days and warns that rental market activity could experience a reduction of up to 30 percent in the coming weeks.
Right-wing parties which voted down the initial housing bills in parliament two weeks ago argued that more restrictions for landlords and property management companies would result in a drop in rental stock.
Previous housing laws rolled out in 2023 did have the adverse effect of causing a fall in rental homes and a steep in prices.
A total of 78.1 percent of real estate professionals now say that it's small landlords in particular that are being dissuaded by the latest measures.
Many of them have taken their properties off the rental market and have opted either to put them up for sale or list them as a short-term or vacation rentals, when possible.
A total of 72.4 percent of agencies also report having contract signings that have been suspended or postponed.
According to the federation, the uncertainty generated by these government decrees is leading many property owners to postpone decisions until they know more about what will happen.
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Around 56 percent of the agencies surveyed reported that some properties initially intended for rental are now being put up for sale instead.
And 38.9 percent of the professionals asked reported that many landlords wanted to shift their properties to seasonal contracts or room rentals instead.
This was the case with 1,224 homes which were taken off the rental market and put up for sale and 944 properties that changed from permanent to another type of rental. In total, the organisation estimates that 4,235 homes are no longer available for permanent residential rental.
At the same time, the agencies report 1,523 contracts pending formalisation, which have been suspended during that same period.
Therefore, the federation estimates that a total of 5,758 transactions have been affected since the new decrees were presented.
Based on the data collected, the federation warns that rental market activity in Spain could see a reduction of between 25 and 30 percent in the coming weeks.
This forecast is based on a combination of factors as named above.
According to the FAI, this situation could further strain a market where rentals were already in short supply in major cities across the country.
The president of the FAI, José María Alfaro, warns that the measures to try and solve the housing crisis are having "serious consequences" on the available supply.
According to him, the new measures have not taken into account small landlords, who own just one or two properties. For them there is greater legal uncertainty since the type of protection in case of non-payment is neither specified nor fully guaranteed.
The decrees also contain measures such as landlords having to compensate tenants one year's worth of rent if they don't agree to renew their contract, unless in very specific circumstances.
Alfaro explained that the bureaucratic complexity of different government agencies discourage these landlords from continuing to rent out their properties.
He believes the answer lies in an 'Emergency Marshall Plan' for access to housing, which would only be possible with a State pact between the different parliamentary parties, regional governments, social organisations, regardless of the electoral results in November.