Study finds market-rate rents push half of Spanish renters into poverty
A new Fedea study shows that when market-rate rents are accounted for, roughly half of tenants in Spain would fall below the poverty line.
Economists José Ignacio Conde-Ruiz and Álvaro Pinto, working for Fedea, released a report titled “El coste de la vivienda y la pobreza oculta en España: 2014-2025.” The paper argues that standard poverty indicators, which exclude housing expenses, underestimate the true extent of deprivation, especially among private-rental tenants. When rent is subtracted from disposable income, the proportion of renters classified as poor rises dramatically, adding almost two million people to the poverty count.
The study also notes a steady increase in the share of Spaniards living in market-rate rentals over the period examined. While overall poverty risk has fallen and income inequality has improved, these gains disappear once housing costs are considered. The authors call for policy frameworks that explicitly factor housing expenses into income-support schemes.
How the sides frame it
MODERATE AGREEMENTBoth camps report that the study shows rent costs push many Spanish renters into poverty, but centrist coverage emphasizes the need for new policy frameworks while right-leaning coverage stresses how official poverty statistics dramatically under-state the problem.
CENTER
The study reveals that standard poverty measures miss the true scale of deprivation among renters and calls for policy reforms to address hidden poverty.
RIGHT
The study uncovers that official poverty figures vastly underestimate the number of poor Spaniards, especially renters, when housing costs are included.
The right emphasises
- poverty rate roughly 20.5 % higher than conventional measure
- renters’ poverty share rises to nearly 50 %
- official poverty statistics substantially underestimate the poor
