Born to Pay Rent coinBorn to pay rent Shop
MADRID avg 1-bed €1,050 ▲ +35% since 2021BARCELONA tourist licences to zero by 2028VALENCIA rents +18% YoY — fastest in SpainMÁLAGA 12,400+ tourist flats registeredLISBON golden-visa property route abolishedBERLIN 59% voted to expropriate mega-landlordsSPAIN 1 in 3 households rent-stressedMADRID avg 1-bed €1,050 ▲ +35% since 2021BARCELONA tourist licences to zero by 2028VALENCIA rents +18% YoY — fastest in SpainMÁLAGA 12,400+ tourist flats registeredLISBON golden-visa property route abolishedBERLIN 59% voted to expropriate mega-landlordsSPAIN 1 in 3 households rent-stressed
Born to Pay Rent coin

Born to Pay Rent

Rent keeps going up. We talk about who pays for it, and who profits.

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Madrid

Investigation — 2026-09-12

Madrid: the city that raised its rent 35% and called it normal

Five years, one third more expensive. We walked Lavapiés, Vallecas and Tetuán to ask the people still holding on how they do it.

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+35%

Avg. rent increase since 2021

Hand-drawn Madrid apartment balconiesMadrid, drawn from the street

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Follow-up2026-08-28

Barcelona said it would ban tourist flats. So where did they go?

The city's celebrated crackdown promised thousands of homes back on the market. We followed the paper trail — and found a lot of 'temporary' rentals instead.

Barcelona6 min
Data2026-08-10

Priced out of Barcelona, priced out of Valencia: the spillover reaches the port

Valencia was supposed to be the affordable escape. Rents there rose faster than anywhere else in Spain last year.

Valencia5 min
Field notes2026-07-22

Málaga now has more tourist beds than hospital beds

A walk through the historic centre where the doorbells have keypads and the corner shops have become luggage lockers.

Málaga7 min

1 in 3

Spanish households rent-stressed

€1,050

Average Madrid 1-bed, 2026

+18%

Valencia rent growth last year

59%

Berlin expropriation vote

This is a community, not a newsroom

We bring you a real-life identity to a cause that's been long undervoiced. Send us your rent story — the long version runs here, the quick hits on Instagram.

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