Santiago: anti-landlord laws push owners away from long-term rentals into temporary lets

The declaration of Santiago as a stressed housing area has pushed landlords towards temporary rentals: only 156 of the 294 properties on offer, 53%, remain in the traditional long-term model. In August, 199 contracts were signed, 36.6% fewer than the 314 of the same month in 2025, and the average price rose to 713.3 euros.

The Galician Association of Estate Agencies (Agalin) presented its report on the rental market in the main Galician cities in October. In Santiago de Compostela, the figure that sums up the shift is a proportion: of the 294 properties on offer in the city, only 156, 53% of the total, remain in the long-term rental model. The rest have moved to seasonal letting. The declaration of a stressed residential market area, approved in July by the Ministry of Housing, is no longer a sector forecast and can now be seen on the property portals.

## The metropolitan area without rent controls keeps three out of four flats

The contrast with the municipalities of the Santiago metropolitan area is the proof the sector points to. There, the control mechanism of the Housing Law has not been applied and three out of four homes are still offered for indefinite rental. In the Galician capital, by contrast, supply has collapsed in the last two weeks: it has lost around a hundred properties, almost 25% of the total. During the summer, estate agencies experienced a situation unseen since the pandemic, with so many flats available that they struggled to find tenants and even cut prices. Across the area, more than 450 properties were listed, a figure that has evaporated after the so-called Mari Carmen decrees.

The argument circulating among industry professionals is that landlords prefer to lose two months of rent and, the trinc year, raise the price without complying with what the stressed area stipulates. This is a claim from the sector, not a figure from the Observatory.

## August contracts fall 36.6% and the average price rises to 713.3 euros

The Galicia Housing Observatory, part of the Instituto Galego de Vivenda e Solo, published at the beginning of the month the first official data on the effect of the stressed area designation in the Galician capital. In August, 199 contracts were signed, 36.6% fewer than the 314 signed in the same month of 2025. September's figures are still unknown, and they are key because historically it is the month when most homes are rented, coinciding with the arrival of university students.

The same data show that prices rose again after the declaration. The average cost of a property reached 713.3 euros, compared with the 629 at which 2026 began.

## Only 3.85% of supply is below 600 euros a month

Agalin's study takes an X-ray of prices. In Santiago, only 3.85% of supply is below 600 euros a month. Between 600 and 750 euros there are only 18 homes, 11.54% of the total. The bulk is concentrated between 900 and 1,200 euros: almost 35% of the properties. Above 1,200 there are 44 homes, 28% of the market. Between 750 and 900 euros is one flat in five.

In the metropolitan area the percentage of affordable properties is higher, though on a minimal supply: for a population of around 60,000 people only 29 homes are on offer, with 6.9% below 600 euros. Between 600 and 750 there are 10, 34.48%, the same percentage as between 750 and 900. Above 900 euros only 10% remain, and four homes exceed 1,200, 13.7%.

The sector's reading is that rent control reduces long-term supply and shifts part of the market to temporary rentals. The official September data will show whether the trend consolidates. Any investment or contract-signing decision should be discussed with an industry professional.