Spain's rent caps reach Santiago and parts of Asturias, while Catalonia's expire in 2027

New stressed residential zones took effect on 30 July 2026, adding Santiago de Compostela and neighbourhoods of Gijón and Avilés to the map, according to the Housing Ministry; Madrid and València remain outside the system.

Tenants arriving in Galicia or Asturias this autumn are covered by rent caps for the first time. According to the Ministry of Housing and Urban Agenda, Santiago de Compostela has been a stressed residential market zone since 30 July 2026, running to 30 July 2029. On the same date, by a resolution of 24 July 2026 published in the Official State Gazette on 29 July 2026, stressed zones took effect in parts of Gijón (La Arena and Cimadevilla), Avilés (La Magdalena), Llanes, Cabrales and Gozón, also until 30 July 2029.

A stressed-zone declaration matters because it switches on the rent limits of the 2023 housing law. In a new lease the rent may not exceed the last rent of a main-residence lease in force in the previous five years, after its annual update; it may rise by at most 10 per cent more, and only for recent refurbishment, energy savings of 30 per cent, accessibility works or a lease of ten years or longer. Where the landlord is a large holder, meaning more than 10 urban residential properties or more than 1,500 square metres of residential floor space, the initial rent is capped by the state reference price index, and the same cap can apply to homes not let in the previous five years if the declaration says so.

Tenants in a stressed zone also gain time. When the mandatory or tacit extension of a lease ends, the tenant may request an extraordinary extension of up to three years in annual periods on the same terms, which the landlord must accept unless other terms are agreed.

The map is uneven. Catalonia was first, with about 140 municipalities including Barcelona declared from 16 March 2024 to 16 March 2027, and around 130 more added from 10 October 2024 to 10 October 2027. The Basque Country covers Donostia-San Sebastián from 30 July 2025 and Bilbao and Vitoria-Gasteiz from 31 October 2025; Navarre's zones, including Pamplona, and A Coruña run from 30 July 2025 to 30 July 2028. The ministry's list contains no zone in the Community of Madrid or the Valencian Community.

Outside stressed zones the general rules still apply. Since the 2023 law, estate-agency fees and contract costs are paid by the landlord, rent can be updated only once a year and only if the contract says so, and the increase may not exceed the reference index published by the National Statistics Institute.

For a newcomer, the practical test is the address. Check whether the municipality, and in Gijón and Avilés the neighbourhood, is on the ministry's list, and note the end date: the first Catalan declaration lapses on 16 March 2027 unless renewed.

Sources: Ministry of Housing and Urban Agenda, list of stressed residential market zones as per the resolution of 24 July 2026; Ministry of Housing and Urban Agenda, information on the regulation of rental contracts; Official State Gazette, Law 29/1994 on urban leases, consolidated text, read 24 September 2026.

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