Tens of thousands of people have staged a protest in Barcelona over the rocketing cost of renting an apartment in the popular tourist destination.

People held up homemade signs reading “Fewer apartments for investing and more homes for living” and “The people without homes uphold their rights”.

The issue has become one of the leading concerns for the southern European Union country, mirroring the housing crunch across many parts of the world.

The average rent in Spain has doubled in the last decade.

The price per square metre has risen from 7.2 euros in 2014 to 13 euros this year, according to the popular online real estate website Idealista.

The growth is even more acute in cities like Barcelona and Madrid. Incomes meanwhile have failed to keep up, especially for younger people in a country with chronically high unemployment.

Protester Samuel Saintot said he is “frustrated and scared” after being told by the owners of the apartment he has rented for the past 15 years in Barcelona’s city centre that he must vacate the premises.

He suspects that the owners want him out so they can renovate it and boost the price.

“Even looking in a 20 or 30-kilometre radius outside town, I can’t even find anything within the price range I can afford,” he told The Associated Press. “And I consider myself a very fortunate person because I earn a decent salary. And even in my case, I may be forced to leave town.”

A report by the Bank of Spain indicates that nearly 40% of Spaniards who rent dedicate an average of 40% of their income to paying rents and utilities, compared to the European Union average of 27%.

Spain Protest
Demonstrators light flares while marching in a protest against the exorbitant rise in the price of renting an apartment in Barcelona (Emilio Morenatti/AP)

“We are talking about a housing emergency. It means people having many difficulties both in accessing and staying in their homes,” said Ignasi Marti, professor for Esade business school and head of its Dignified Housing Observatory.

The rise in rents is causing significant pain in Spain, where traditionally people seek to own their homes.

Rental prices have also been driven up by short-term renters including tourists. Many migrants to Spain are also disproportionately hit by the high rents because they often do not have enough savings.

Spain is near the bottom end of OECD countries with under 2% of all housing available being public housing for rent. The OECD average is 7%. Spain is far behind France, with 14%, Britain with 16%, and the Netherlands with 34%.

Carme Arcarazo, spokesperson for Barcelona’s Tenants Union which helped organise the protest, said that renters should consider a “rent strike” and cease paying their monthly rents in a mass protest movement.

“I think we the tenants have understood that this depends on us. That we can’t keep asking and making demands to the authorities and waiting for an answer. We must take the reins of the situation,” Ms Arcarazo told the AP. “So, if they (the owners) won’t lower the rent, then we will force them to do it.”

The Barcelona protest came a month after tens of thousands rallied against high rents in Madrid.

The rising discontent over housing is putting pressure on Spain’s governing Socialist party, which leads a coalition on the national level and is in charge of Catalonia’s regional government and Barcelona’s city hall.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez presided over what the government termed a “housing summit” including government officials and developers last month.

But the Barcelona’s Tenants Union boycotted the event, saying it was like calling a summit for curing cancer and inviting tobacco companies to participate.