What is the rent reference index in Spain (SERPAVI)?
It is the Spanish Ministry of Housing’s system (SERPAVI) that gives a rent range for each area and type of home, built from rental contracts declared to the tax authority. Spanish law uses it as a limit in some cases, and anyone can consult it to see what tenants already pay in their area.
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Where does the data come from?
From the rental contracts that private landlords declare in their income tax return. These are signed contracts of different dates, not listings or asking prices.
An area only gets a value when there are enough contracts. On A su precio, an area with too few contracts shows as “sin dato”, which means no data.
Portals show what is asked now for homes that are available. The index reflects what people who already have a contract pay. They measure different things and can give different figures.
What does the index give you?
A rent range for each census section, the smallest area unit, and type of home, with a lower end and an upper end. The range is then adjusted for the features of the home, such as size, age or whether the building has a lift.
For the same place, the range changes with the size and the type of home. Two flats on the same street can therefore have different references.
The upper end is not a maximum. It is the value below which most contracts fall, and some contracts are above it.
Example (hypothetical): a 70 m² home in an imaginary area
| Figure | Value per month |
|---|---|
| Lower end of what tenants already pay there | €700 |
| Upper end | €900 |
What is it used for by law?
Spain’s 2023 housing law (Ley 12/2023) provides for the index as a limit on the starting rent in areas declared “stressed residential markets” (zonas tensionadas) when the landlord is a large owner. The rule sits in article 17.7 of the Urban Leases Act.
A 2026 royal decree-law also refers to it for annual rent updates. It is still awaiting validation by parliament and may change, so we do not go into it here: see our page in Spanish and the Ministry’s official calculator, linked below.
Outside the cases the law sets, the index is an informative reference and not a fixed price.
How do you check it?
The official lookup is at serpavi.mivau.gob.es: you enter the address and the features of the home. That is the official value.
For a quick estimate in Madrid, A su precio takes a minute. It is independent: if it differs from the official value, the official value governs.
Frequently asked questions
Is the index a maximum price?
Not in general. It is the upper end of what tenants already pay in the area, and some contracts are above it. It only has legal effect in the cases the law sets.
How is it kept up to date?
A su precio does not update the contracts: it uses the 2024 data as the Ministry publishes it, and rents have risen since. The official value depends on the version the Ministry publishes.
Does it cover all of Spain?
The system is national, and regions can have their own. A su precio only calculates for the city of Madrid.