The monographic survey by 40dB for El País and Cadena SER outlines a strong residential insecurity: almost 75% of those who live in rental housing fear being forced to leave their home in the next two years for economic reasons and another 75% allocate more than 30% of household income to pay rent. 83% of those who do not own a home want to buy one, but only 26.3% consider it likely to achieve this within ten years.
The survey, conducted through 2,000 interviews between September 25 and 28, reflects a very high residential insecurity among renters, but also significant difficulties among mortgaged individuals, young people wanting to emancipate, and citizens aspiring to buy their first home.
Almost 75% of tenants fear having to leave their home
The concern about being able to maintain housing does not only affect a minority in extreme situations. Taking the whole of Spain into account, 47% express a lot or quite a bit of concern about being forced to leave their usual residence in the next two years due to economic difficulties. Among those who live in rental housing, the percentage approaches 75%.
The difference with homeowners is significant: ownership continues to function as an important element of residential security, while renting exposes individuals more intensely to rent changes, contract expirations, or household economic difficulties. The fear also increases among younger generations. Among members of Generation Z and millennials, it exceeds 56%, compared to a lower concern in older age groups.
75% of renters exceed the 30% threshold of their income
The economic effort helps to explain this insecurity. 75% of tenants dedicate more than 30% of their household's monthly income to rent payment. Among members of Generation Z, the percentage reaches 84.5%. The survey also divides the burden of households in considerable detail.
- 47.5% of tenants allocate between 30% and 50% of their income to rent.
- Another 23.8% dedicate between 50% and 70%.
- And 5.2% even exceed 70% of household income.
- Only about one in five rental households, 22.4%, manages to stay below the 30% threshold.
The figure alone does not constitute an official definition of overexertion, but it allows measuring the intensity with which rent absorbs disposable income.
As a distinct and more demanding reference, the INE reports that in 2024, 28.1% of the population living in market-rate rentals were in households where the total housing cost exceeded 40% of their income. It is a different metric, but it also points to particularly high pressure among those renting in the free market.
62% of tenants consider what they pay to be high
The subjective perception coincides with the data on effort. 62% of those living in rental housing consider the rent they pay to be high. Only 6.2% rate it as low. The difference is considerable and helps explain why housing has become one of the issues that generates the most concern in Spain. It is not only about households that technically exceed a certain percentage of effort. There is also a much broader perception that the cost of housing has ceased to have a comfortable relationship with available income.
Young people bear the greatest pressure
The generational fracture appears in practically all indicators. Among Generation Z tenants, 84.5% dedicate more than 30% of their income to rent. Furthermore, 52.7% of Spaniards aged 18 to 29 continue to live with their parents or in-laws. Among millennials, aged 30 to 45, 18% still do so.
The very way of emancipation is also changing. Among young people of Generation Z, there are more people living in shared apartments, 11.6%, than renting a home for exclusive use, 9.4%. The official data from the INE points in the same direction. In 2025, among young people aged 26 to 34 who continued living with their parents, the economic impossibility of renting or buying appeared as one of the main reasons, especially among those with lower incomes.
83% want to buy a home
The survey also reveals that homeownership remains a widely held aspiration. Among those who do not own a home, 83% claim to be interested in buying one. The problem arises when they are asked when they believe they will be able to do so.
- Only 7% think they will be able to acquire it in less than five years.
- Another 19% believe they will need between five and ten years.
- 22% consider that it will take more than a decade.
- And approximately 35% believe they will never be able to buy a house.
Therefore, although eight out of ten want to be homeowners, only 26.3% see it likely to achieve that goal within the next ten years. The gap between aspiration and expectation is one of the most revealing data points of the entire study.
One in three believes they will never be able to buy. The figure deserves a separate reading: almost 35% of people who are not homeowners and would like to be consider that they will never be able to buy a home. It is not simply a forecast about the short term. It is an expectation of permanent exclusion from the property market. The survey also indicates that pessimism grows with age. Those who have gone the longest without being able to access their own home consider it less likely that they will be able to do so in the future.
The mortgage does not guarantee absence of pressure either
Having a home owned through a mortgage reduces some risks associated with renting, but does not eliminate the financial burden. Among those who pay a mortgage, 57.4% dedicate more than 30% of the household's monthly income to the payment.
The situation is particularly intense among young people. 84.2% of millennials with a mortgage exceed that threshold. Within that group, 63.6% dedicate between 30% and 50% of their income and another 20.6% between 50% and 70%. A little more than half of mortgaged individuals also consider that the amount they pay each month is high.
Family support becomes a central piece
The survey shows to what extent access to housing also depends on the wealth or economic capacity of the family of origin. More than one in three homeowners received some type of family help to obtain their home. Among millennial homeowners, the percentage reaches 55.2%. Among members of Generation Z who have managed to buy, it rises to 65.4%. This means that almost two out of three young homeowners needed family support to access housing.
Support is not limited to buying: 21.9% of those who live in rental housing receive regular or occasional support from relatives to pay for it.
- Among Generation Z tenants, the percentage reaches 34.2%.
- And among those who live in shared apartments, it reaches 32.3%.
82% believe that accessing housing is now more difficult
The general perception of the market is also very negative. More than 82% believe that it is currently more difficult to access a home in their area than it was five years ago. About 60% respond that it is “much more difficult.” The perception extends across practically all political, social, and generational groups, although it is especially intense in Madrid and Barcelona. The importance of this data lies in the fact that it does not only measure tenants or young people looking for housing. It reflects a widespread perception of deterioration in accessibility.
The main results of the survey
Housing survey 40dB: the main data
The 40dB survey for El País and Cadena SER reflects high economic pressure among tenants and young people, in addition to a strong gap between the desire to buy a home and the real expectation of being able to do so.
| Indicator | Data |
|---|---|
| Tenants worried about having to leave their home in two years | Almost 75% |
| Tenants who allocate more than 30% of their income to rent | 75% |
| Generation Z renting that exceeds 30% effort | 84.5% |
| Tenants who consider their rent high | 62% |
| Non-owners interested in buying | 83% |
| Non-owners who see it likely to buy in less than 10 years | 26.3% |
| People who believe they will never be able to buy | ≈35% |
| Citizens who find it more difficult to access housing than five years ago | More than 82% |
| Generation Z living with parents or in-laws | 52.7% |
| Tenants receiving family help to pay rent | 21.9% |
Source: monographic survey of 40dB for El País and Cadena SER. 2,000 online interviews conducted between September 25 and 28, 2026. Margin of error: ±2.2% for a confidence level of 95%.