> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://barna.news/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # 60% of Barcelona Renters Leave Early by Choice - URL: https://barna.news/60-of-barcelona-renters-leave-early-by/ - Published: 2026-10-03T11:38:51.000Z - Updated: 2026-10-03T11:40:18.000Z - Description: A new report shows most rental contracts in Barcelona end early due to tenant decisions, not evictions. - Author: Barna.News - Tags: Housing ## Most Contracts End Early by Tenant Choice Six out of ten private rental contracts in Barcelona are terminated before their legal end date, and in nearly all cases, it is the tenant who chooses to leave. According to a September 2026 update from the Centre de Dades i Estudis Immobiliaris (CDEI), part of the Col·legi d'Administradors de Finques de Barcelona-Lleida (CABFL), 60% of early contract endings were initiated by tenants, while only 6% were attributed to landlords. The data covers nearly 21,000 active residential rental deposits managed by CABFL members. Contracts ending more than four months before expiry are counted as tenant-initiated, since landlords cannot legally terminate without cause until the final four-month window. Within that last period, terminations are assigned to the landlord. --- ## Average Stay Rises to 34 Months Despite early exits, tenants are staying longer on average. The typical rental duration in Barcelona reached 34 months in 2026, up from 23 months in 2023\. This trend reflects tighter housing supply in regulated areas across Catalonia, which limits options for relocating. Joan Raldiris, administrator and economist at CABFL, said: > “A trend towards greater permanence in properties is observed. Contracts are lasting longer, but many still end months before the contracted term.” Data shows 33.6% of leases signed in 2023 had already ended by September 2026, along with 23.7% of 2024 contracts and 11.8% from 2025. - 2023 average contract length: 23 months - 2024: 29 months - 2025: 30 months - 2026: 34 months ### Indefinite Contracts Debate Continues The findings come amid political debate over introducing indefinite rental contracts, a proposal championed by housing rights groups and left-wing parties. However, Joana Amat, a CABFL member and property manager, argues such measures are unnecessary. She stated that voluntary departures prove tenants are not being pushed out en masse. Based on CABFL data, she estimates only 0.55% of rentals in Barcelona, around 1,320 out of an estimated 240,000 rented homes, result in formal eviction proceedings. Amat also noted a shift among landlords: 59% of owners who withdraw properties from the rental market do so for personal use, while 27% sell, a figure she says has almost doubled recently. She attributes this to regulatory pressure discouraging long-term letting. The CDEI plans to conduct qualitative research in the coming months to better understand why tenants move, building on earlier survey data from Institut Metròpoli’s 2022 Urban Cohesion Survey. That study found the main reasons for moving were housing or environmental improvements (38.9%), family circumstances (30.4%), and economic factors (24%). --- *Reported by elperiodico.com, masifill.com, El Periódico Barcelona.* --- ### Related on Barna.News - [Housing Decree Faces Hurdles Over Eviction Ban](https://barna.news/housing-decree-faces-hurdles-over/) - [Affordable Rentals Vanish in Madrid and Barcelona](https://barna.news/affordable-rentals-vanish-in-madrid-and/) - [Barcelona Evictions Down 56% in Decade](https://barna.news/barcelona-evictions-down-56-in-decade/) - [Tenants' Union Rally to Block Eviction in Sant Andreu](https://barna.news/tenants-union-rally-to-block-eviction/)