Benefit to cover non-payment of rent in the city of Barcelona, with the aim of making it possible for the applicant and his/her household unit to remain in the home.
It may include an additional allowance to support continued rent payments, provided the applicant falls under one of the following categories:
- Being subject to legal eviction proceedings.
- Women in a situation of gender violence.
- Being involved in a mediation procedure that grants access to this benefit.
The benefits are provided as a result of social mediation and personal follow-up and are awarded on a non-refundable basis.
– Household: For the purpose of these benefits, a household unit is defined as all individuals registered at the same address, regardless of whether they are related or not.
– Registration in the municipal register: Yes, applicants must be registered as residents in Barcelona at the time of application.
– Legal residence: Yes. Applicants must have legal residence in Spain, demonstrated with a valid residence permit.
– Required documentation: Spanish national identity document (DNI), valid certificate of registration as an EU national, identity number for foreign nationals (NIE), valid identity card for foreign nationals (TIE), document stating where a registered individual lives and with whom, family book.
– Income: The household’s income in the last three months prior to the submission of the application may not exceed the following amounts*:
| Household | Maximum income* (monthly, 12 payments) |
Maximum income* (annual) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 member | 2,075.97 euros | 24,911.79 euros |
| 2 members | 2,675.22 euros | 32,102.82 euros |
| 3 members | 2,790.29 euros | 33,483.58 euros |
| 4 members or more | 2,883.30 euros | 34,599.70 euros |
In the case of people with disabilities or severe dependency, the income may not exceed the following amounts:
| Household | Maximum income* (monthly, 12 payments) |
Maximum income* (annual) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 member | 3,113.96 euros | 37,367.68 euros |
| 2 members | 3,210.27 euros | 38,523.38 euros |
| 3 members | 3,348.34 euros | 40,180.30 euros |
| 4 members or more | 3,459.96 euros | 41,519.64 euros |
In no case may the income of the household be less than the rent of the dwelling.
– Assets: Neither the applicant nor any other member of the household may have a dwelling in ownership or usufruct, unless he/she does not have the use and enjoyment of it due to separation or divorce or for any reason beyond his/her control, or when the dwelling is inaccessible due to the disability of the owner or any member of the household. A person is not considered to be the owner or usufructuary of a dwelling if the right is only over an aliquot part of the dwelling and has been obtained by transmission mortis causa.
– Recognised disability/Dependency: In the case of people with disabilities or severe dependency, the income threshold is made more flexible in order to facilitate access to benefits for this group (see section “Income”).
– Victim of gender-based violence: A complementary benefit may be available for women in a situation of gender violence.
– Housing situation:
– The applicant must hold a rental contract, a use assignment agreement, a subletting contract, a right of subrogation to a dwelling or any other legally valid document proving occupancy of the residence.
– Use the dwelling for the applicant’s habitual and permanent residence. – If, at the time of the decision, the applicant is no longer living in the residence for which the benefit was requested, the application will be denied due to non-compliance with the purpose of these benefits.
– The applicant’s monthly rental payments must not exceed a maximum of 900 euros.
– The applicant must have a rental debt arising from unforeseen and unexpected circumstances.
– The applicant must have paid rent for a minimum period of three months from the signing of the contract until the submission of the application.
– At the time the resolution is to be issued, the lease must have a term of twelve months or more and, if this is not the case, the lessor must provide a documentary guarantee for the extension or renewal of the lease, in accordance with the regulations in force.
– A written undertaking must be provided requesting the filing of the lawsuit that has been lodged when the applicants are subject to judicial eviction proceedings.
– Other requirements:
– Proof of the emergency and special need of the applicant’s household by means of a socio-economic report from the primary or specialised social services, in which it is proposed that the benefit be awarded for these reasons and because the family unit is in one of the situations at risk of residential exclusion.
– For the purposes of these services, the following items are considered to be part of the rental amount: the rent, rent arrears, the amounts corresponding to the repercussion of improvement works, the property tax (IBI), the rubbish collection service charge and, where applicable, the garage and storage room charges included in the contract and paid by the lessee.
– With the amount of the benefit requested, it is necessary to guarantee the settlement of the existing debt.
– Applicants must be in a position to continue paying rent from the time the benefit claim is resolved.
Incompatibilities:
These benefits are incompatible with any other rent assistance payments managed by the Catalan Housing Agency and with the receipt of any other financial assistance paid by any public body or administration for the same monthly payments in the same year that are intended for the same purpose. When the benefits are for different monthly payments, the total amounts to be received in a single calendar year may not exceed 4,500 euros.
These benefits are not available to those:
• Persons with a legal entitlement to housing owned or managed by the Catalan Housing Agency, as well as those of any public administration in general.
• Persons who have received an offer to access housing from the public rental stock and have not accepted it, except for justified reasons, during a period of two years between the date of refusal and the date of the application for the subsidy.
• Persons who are entitled to compulsory social rent from a large housing owner, as a suitable alternative to their situation, unless there is good cause.
• The person having signed the rental contract or any other member having any of the following links:
o Relationship by marriage or other similar stable relationship, by consanguinity, adoption or affinity, up to the second degree, with the lessors.
o Partners or participants of the entities acting as lessors.
Amount and frequency:
The amount granted is determined based on the verified outstanding debt, with a maximum limit of 4,500 euros. The benefit can be awarded for a maximum period of twelve months, even if the total amount granted does not reach the maximum limit.
– Beneficiaries of a special emergency benefit for the payment of rent arrears can obtain a complementary benefit in order to be able to continue paying the rent, provided that they are in one of the following situations:
– Being subject to legal eviction proceedings.
– Women in a situation of gender violence, expressly including gender by a family member or by someone in their community or social sphere.
– The intermediation procedure between the parties who are eligible for this benefit under their agreement.
The amount of the complementary benefit for rent continuity is 60% of the annual rent payable for the home, up to a maximum of 2,400 euros per year per home.
The benefit is granted for twelve monthly payments starting from the month immediately following the month of issue of the favourable resolution. It can be renewed for up to a further 24 months by means of a renewal application.