The average rent in Spain almost doubled in the last ten years.

Posted by Apple News Today, Oct 21, 2026Checked Oct 30, 2026

Polygraph verdictMixed

Sources: 2 contradict6 support2 context
Said: 1 time·
Confidence: 60%

Apple News TodayOct 21, 2026

Asking-rent measures support the claim: Idealista data show the average price per square metre rising from 8.20 euros in 2016 to 15.1 euros in 2026 (about 84%), and Reuters and AP both say rents have almost doubled.

A detail. The sources confirm the gist; the verdict faults a detail such as a date, number or wording.

What was said

… And it really spiraled into a wider protest about how housing prices in the country have just become completely disconnected from what people actually make here. The average rent in Spain almost doubled in the last ten years. The government responded to protests with a package of emergency measures to protect tenants, which was blocked in parliament by right-wing parties. In response Spain's socialist prime minister called a snap election. …

Apple News Today · Oct 21, 2026· from the transcriptPost →

What we found

Contradicts. Official rent measures show much smaller increases: the OECD-sourced Spain rent index shows annual nominal changes of about 0.5% to 2.4% in recent years, and the INE Reference Index of Housing Rentals shows a 2.54% annual variation for September 2026.[3][4]

Supports. Idealista's price-per-square-metre series, cited by AP and Chicago Tribune, rises from 8.20 euros (2016) to 15.1 euros (2026), an increase of roughly 84%, which is consistent with 'almost doubled'.[1][5][6][7]

Supports. Reuters states that average Spanish rents have doubled over the past decade, outpacing salary growth.[2]

Supports. Fotocasa data cited by The Local show the rent per square metre rising about 78% between April 2014 and April 2024, close to doubling over a decade.[8]

Context. CaixaBank Research finds that rents for sitting tenants rise close to inflation (below 3%), while new-contract rents rose more than 10% in 2025, so the increase is concentrated in new leases.[9]

Context. El País estimates that in 97% of census sections rents rose more than 30% since 2015, and in two-thirds more than 50%, which is a broad increase but not a direct measure of doubling.[10]