Living in a three-wheeled car: Spain's housing crisis

Three-wheeled cars as the new frontier of housing

The video has been circulating for nearly two years and continues to go viral: a young woman lives inside a three-wheeled vehicle equipped with a bed, projector, kitchen, and even a folding toilet. Filmed in China, the scene has served not just for shock value but to reopen comparisons with the 30-square-meter apartments promoted for young people in Spain over a decade ago. What seemed like a joke back then is now called luxury by some.

The discussion goes beyond the video itself. It has become a thermometer for housing costs, cost of living, and how much personal space can be squeezed before someone says enough. It also serves as a warning: if rents in Spain continue to skyrocket, the image of living in a car may cease to be exotic.

What the three-wheeled car video actually shows

The vehicle is small, with three wheels, and its interior fits a bed, a projector, a water pump system, a kitchen, and a folding chemical toilet. The protagonist has decorated it with plush toys and household utensils. According to many comments, the result looks more like an exercise in performance art than real housing: some suspect the car is larger than it appears or that the woman is petite, while others directly label the setup as fake.

Doubts about the space are the first sustancia ilegal in the narrative. How does all that fit into a three-wheeled cabin? The most repeated answer is that the video is staged, includes added storm sound effects, and accumulates objects for visual impact. But even if it is a montage, the debate has shifted to something more serious: the normalization of living in minimal spaces.

From 30-square-meter apartments to cars

Comparisons with 30-square-meter apartments for youth are central to much of the conversation. They were previously criticized as examples of precarity. Now, with rental prices soaring, some argue those apartments were an Asian-style luxury. The evolution of minimum housing standards has accelerated: from 30 square meters to shared rooms, and from there to cars.

The argument isn't just nostalgic. Several messages point out that the problem isn't the video, but the economy that makes it possible. Housing has become the most expensive asset for a generation unable to access it, even through sharing. And the car, theoretically a means of transport, appears as a residential refuge.

Can you live in a car in Spain without being fined?

No, at least not with the peace shown in the video. Voices in the debate claim Spanish municipal legislation prohibits sleeping in public streets within a vehicle, and police can issue fines for camping. Additionally, adapting a car's interior for housing may abusa vehicle regulations and technical inspection (ITV) rules, according to these same comments. The question isn't whether it's comfortable, but whether it's legal.

Another obstacle is energy cost. An electric car would need recharging every few days, and doing so with all appliances connected isn't viable everywhere. In Spain, given electricity prices and municipal restrictions, the equation doesn't work. The most common conclusion: this couldn't happen here, not even close.

The Chinese context: cheap rent and safety

Comparison with China is inevitable. Several messages note that in medium-sized Chinese cities, one can rent an apartment for 1,500 euros per year, a figure that sounds like a joke in Spain. Safety is also mentioned as a factor allowing people to sleep in vehicles without worry. The contextual difference is vast: there, the problem is space; here, it's price and regulation.

Some argue the video is part of a campaign showing how badly people live in China. Others see it as a preview of what could arrive here. The discussion moves between geopolitics and domestic economics, with no consensus reached.

Housing as symptom: from precarity to sarcasm

The general tone mixes dark humor and resignation. Jokes are made about lack of showers, smells, and discomfort. But beneath the jokes lies a shared diagnosis: housing has become a luxury, and what was once an exception is now presented as a trend. The word romanticization appears in several messages to describe how misery is sold as a lifestyle.

The lingering question is whether the video is an exaggeration or a preview. No one knows. What is known is that 30-square-meter apartments are no longer debated: they are missed. And in a country where housing was the great social elevator, that says a lot about where we have arrived.