YOUNG Spaniards hoping to move out and live independently are now being forced to spend virtually their entire salary on rent, new figures have revealed.
The average rent for a full flat in Spain hit a record €1,176 a month in 2025, according to the Independence Observatory of the Spanish Youth Council (CJE).
The figure accounts for nearly 99% of the average young person’s monthly salary of €1,190, leaving many unable to afford life away from the family home.
As a result, a staggering 75% of Spaniards aged between 16 and 34 still live with their parents.
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“Education and employment no longer guarantee independence or stability,” the CJE warned in its report.
The average age at which young Spaniards finally leave home has now climbed to 30 – four years later than the European average of 26, according to Eurostat data.
Although average annual salaries for young workers rose by 1.7% last year, any gains are quickly wiped out by soaring housing costs and relentless rent hikes, the report continues.
Even shared accommodation now eats up around a third of a worker’s salary – already above the 30% affordability limit recommended by financial experts.
The report also sounded the alarm over rising ‘over-indebtedness’ among young renters, with nearly half of young households spending dangerously large chunks of their income just to keep a roof over their heads.
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The CJE warned that renting is increasingly becoming ‘a direct mechanism of youth poverty,’ with nearly 30% of young Spaniards considered at risk of poverty or social exclusion in 2025 – second only to children.
The figure rockets to 43% once housing costs are taken into account, highlighting the crushing impact rent is having on young people’s finances.
Mortgages remain largely out of reach too. Based on average lending conditions in Spain, monthly repayments would top €810 – an impossible burden for many under-35s already struggling to cover rent, bills and everyday living costs.
The crisis comes as Spain faces one of the worst housing shortages in Europe, with the Bank of Spain estimating a deficit of between 450,000 and 500,000 homes nationwide.
The pressure is particularly high in tourist hotspots such as Madrid, Barcelona, Malaga and the Balearic Islands, where rents and property prices have surged over the past decade.
Average rents in Spain have doubled over the last 10 years, dramatically outpacing wage growth and fuelling growing anger among younger generations locked out of both renting and buying.
Tourist rentals have become a major political flashpoint, with regional governments introducing stricter controls on Airbnb-style lets amid claims they are pricing locals out of their own neighbourhoods.
Barcelona has already announced plans to ban all tourist apartments by 2028, while Malaga and Madrid have imposed restrictions on new short-term rental licences.
Spain’s socialist-led government is also pushing new measures aimed at easing the crisis, including a proposed 21% VAT tax on short-term holiday rentals – double the rate charged to hotels.
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