Spain Room Rentals Climb to 3.2% as Flat Prices Force Tenants to Share

The share of Spaniards who have rented or tried to rent a room in a shared flat rose to 3.2% in the first half of 2026, up from 2.8% a year earlier, according to a Fotocasa Research report on shared housing. Fotocasa attributes the increase to affordability constraints rather than preference. "Renting a room has become the plan B for those who cannot get access to a conventional rental," said María Matos, head of research at the portal, citing limited supply and elevated prices. The study found one-directional overlap between the two markets: 34% of room seekers also searched for or rented a whole property in the past 12 months, while only 11% of whole-flat seekers considered a room. Demand for whole-home rentals held near 10% of the working-age population. Combined demand for rental housing reached 12% of the population, up nearly half a percentage point from 2025, a rise Fotocasa described as moderate.