Barcelona’s rental madness – €800 for a15m² closet

Finding a flat under €1,000 a month in Barcelona has become nearly impossible.

As of May 2025, rental prices in the province rose 1.5 per cent compared to April this year, averaging €20.6 per square metre. This is a 10.8 percent increase over last year.

Buying your own home in Barcelona isn’t much better, with prices reaching €4,895 per square metre.

€800 per month for 15 square metres

In the cruel housing market, a recent rental listing on Fotocasa went viral.

Not for being a great deal, but for being completely absurd: €800 per month for a 15 square metre “apartment” in La Font de la Guatlla, Sants-Montjuïc. More exactly, the studio is located on Gran Via de les Corts Catalanes — a central spot, though the price seems hard to justify given the limited space on offer.

The studio is a glorified room for storage, but with a toilet.

It’s even better than that: “The elegant city stay”

The listing at Fotocasa has a robotic and almost comical tone. It opens with the phrase: “The elegant urban stay,” then praises the unit’s “cute terrace” (its interior) and “the fresh new décor” (unfortunately, not visible in the pictures).

It’s at least honest to say that “it doesn’t receive much natural light.” And here’s the perfect punchline: “But let’s be honest — if all you need is a place to sleep, does it really matter?”

Here comes the homechecker

Angie, a “homechecker”, adds to the surrealism by saying she fell in love the apartment and its “amazing setting” because “you’ll spend most of your free time outside anyway.”

What Angie says sounds about right — living in 15 square metres for €800 monthly sounds more like a psychological endurance test or an act of brave stoicism than a rental. But… at least the listing comes with a video.

The housing market in Barcelona feels more like a satire than a crisis at this point.