Receiving a pension and living independently is becoming an increasingly difficult goal for many elderly people. The case of Encarna, a 67-year-old retired woman in Spain, is an example of this: she told the Spanish press that she had to share a house because she could not afford the rent alone.
According to El Español, a Spanish digital daily, Encarna was direct when explaining the reason: “my economic capacity cannot cover a rent”. And the 67-year-old retiree added: “I receive around 800 euros in pension and the rent for a room is already over 500 euros”.
The same report is taken up by Noticias Trabajo, a Spanish website specializing in legal and labor matters, which frames the case within the growing pressure of the rental market.
Housing is no longer just a problem for young people
For years, the difficulty in accessing housing was mainly associated with younger generations. However, reports highlight that rising rents are also pushing retirees into more vulnerable situations, forcing them to look for alternatives such as sharing a home.
In the aforementioned testimony, Encarna says that she is from Barcelona and that, in Valencia, she is without a family, which makes sharing housing not only a financial necessity but also a way of not feeling alone.
When the pension goes almost entirely towards income
With a pension of around 800 euros, amounts above 500 euros for accommodation rent consume a very high portion of this 67-year-old retiree’s monthly income, leaving little room for essential expenses such as food, medicines or basic services.
Even so, Encarna admits, according to , that coexistence “is good” and that being accompanied helps to combat loneliness, although the solution results from necessity and not choice.
Incomes at historic highs exacerbate the problem
Market numbers help you understand the context. Fotocasa Research, a data analysis platform for the Spanish real estate market, indicated that, in September 2025, the national average rental price in Spain was 13.69 euros/m² per month, which put a “typical” house of 80 m² close to 1,095 euros per month.
In turn, idealista data shows that the market closed December 2025 with a national average cost of 14.7 euros/m² (a new maximum, according to the real estate portal).
And in large cities the values are even higher: in Barcelona and Madrid, for example, prices per square meter are well above the national average, and Valencia also has high levels.
Lack of public responses deepens vulnerability
The reports also point to the lack of sufficient public solutions (social housing and affordable rent) as a factor that aggravates economic and emotional vulnerability in old age, especially when there is no home available.
And in Portugal?
Although the case of Encarna concerns Spain, housing pressure is not exclusive to that country, being a reality present in other European countries.
In Portugal, for example, INE (cited by RTP/Lusa) indicated that the median rent for new rental contracts for housing in 2024 was 7.97 euros/m², with values well above the average in areas such as Greater Lisbon (13.06 euros/m²) and Lisbon (15.93 euros/m²).
At the same time, the incomes of many pensioners remain low: the Bank of Portugal reports that, in 2024, the average old-age pension under the general regime was around 645 euros, but half of pensioners received less than 462 euros.
In other words, in areas where rents (especially in new contracts) are higher, the pressure on those who live solely on pensions can become very heavy.
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