How much are the rents in Costa Blanca right now? (2026)

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INVESTROPA

A team specialized in real estate investing in European countries

We are a team of financial experts, legal professionals, developers, and local real estate specialists dedicated to helping people like you avoid mistakes when investing in real estate in a foreign place, particularly in Costa Blanca. If you’d like to learn more about us, you can check our presentation page.

What are typical rents in Costa Blanca as of 2026?

What's the average monthly rent for a studio in Costa Blanca as of 2026?

As of 2026, the average monthly rent for a studio in Costa Blanca is about €650, which is roughly $700.

In practice, most studios in Costa Blanca rent for about €550 to €850 per month, or roughly $595 to $920, depending on the town and the quality of the apartment.

The main reason studio rents vary so much in Costa Blanca is that a small flat near Benidorm beach, Playa de San Juan or Jávea Arenal can cost far more than a similar studio in Elche, Alcoy, Elda or an inland town.

What's the average monthly rent for a 1-bedroom in Costa Blanca as of 2026?

As of 2026, the average monthly rent for a 1-bedroom apartment in Costa Blanca is about €800, which is roughly $865.

For most 1-bedroom apartments in Costa Blanca, a realistic rent range is €700 to €1,100 per month, or about $755 to $1,190.

Cheaper 1-bedroom rents in Costa Blanca are usually found in Elche, Torrevieja, San Vicente del Raspeig and older parts of Alicante, while the highest rents are usually in Benidorm, Finestrat, Calpe, Jávea, Altea, Cabo de las Huertas and Playa de San Juan.

What's the average monthly rent for a 2-bedroom in Costa Blanca as of 2026?

As of 2026, the average monthly rent for a 2-bedroom apartment in Costa Blanca is about €1,050, which is roughly $1,135.

Most 2-bedroom apartments in Costa Blanca rent for about €900 to €1,600 per month, or roughly $970 to $1,730, with the upper end usually linked to coastal views, terraces, lifts, parking and pools.

The cheapest 2-bedroom rents in Costa Blanca are usually in Elche, Elda, Alcoy and older inland areas, while the most expensive ones are usually in Benidorm, Finestrat, Altea, Jávea, Calpe, Playa de San Juan and Cabo de las Huertas.

By the way, you will find much more detailed rent ranges in our property pack covering the real estate market in Costa Blanca.

What's the average rent per square meter in Costa Blanca as of 2026?

As of 2026, the average rent per square meter in Costa Blanca is about €12.8 per m² per month, which is roughly $13.8 per m².

Across Costa Blanca, a realistic rent range is about €9 to €17 per m² per month, or about $10 to $18 per m², from cheaper inland towns to prime beachfront apartment zones.

Compared with Madrid or Barcelona, Costa Blanca is still cheaper on average, but the best coastal areas of Benidorm, Jávea, Calpe, Finestrat and Alicante beach districts can feel expensive because the tenant pool is international.

Properties in Costa Blanca usually rent above the local average when they have a sea view, terrace, lift, parking, pool, strong air conditioning, modern furniture and easy access to the beach or TRAM.

How much have rents changed year-over-year in Costa Blanca in 2026?

As of 2026, average rents in Costa Blanca are up by about 8% to 9% year over year.

The main drivers are strong foreign demand, limited good long-term rental supply, rising coastal demand, student demand around Alicante and San Vicente del Raspeig, and strong tourism pressure spilling into residential areas.

This year’s rent growth in Costa Blanca is still strong, but it looks slightly more balanced than the fastest post-pandemic jump because some tenants are already reaching affordability limits.

What's the outlook for rent growth in Costa Blanca in 2026?

As of 2026, open-market rents in Costa Blanca could rise by about 5% to 7% over the next 12 months.

The biggest factors are tight rental supply, airport-linked foreign demand, local workers priced out of buying, university demand near Alicante and San Vicente, and continued demand from retirees and remote workers.

The strongest rent growth in Costa Blanca is likely in Benidorm, Finestrat, Altea, Jávea, Calpe, Torrevieja, Alicante Centro, Playa de San Juan and Cabo de las Huertas.

The main risks are weaker household budgets, stricter rental rules, more supply coming online, lower tourism demand or owners switching homes back from tourist rentals to long-term rentals.

Which neighborhoods rent best in Costa Blanca as of 2026?

Which neighborhoods have the highest rents in Costa Blanca as of 2026?

As of 2026, the three highest-rent areas in Costa Blanca are Benidorm Levante and Poniente at about €1,300 to €1,700 per month, Jávea Arenal and Puerto at about €1,200 to €1,600, and Alicante Playa de San Juan or Cabo de las Huertas at about €1,100 to €1,600, which is roughly $1,190 to $1,835 at the top end.

These Costa Blanca neighborhoods command premium rents because tenants pay more for beach access, sea views, restaurants, international services, walkability, modern buildings, parking and strong year-round demand.

The usual tenants in these high-rent Costa Blanca neighborhoods are foreign residents, remote workers, higher-income Spanish households, retirees, corporate tenants and seasonal tenants who want comfort without managing a car-heavy lifestyle.

By the way, we’ve written a blog article detailing Sources and methodology: we used idealista, Engel & Völkers and Fotocasa. We ranked areas by rent level and tenant depth. We also checked premium neighborhoods against our own Costa Blanca investment maps.

Where do young professionals prefer to rent in Costa Blanca right now?

The top areas for young professionals in Costa Blanca are Alicante Centro and Mercado, Ensanche-Diputación and Benalúa, plus Elche Centro and Altabix for more affordable urban living.

Young professionals in these Costa Blanca areas usually pay about €700 to €1,100 per month, or roughly $755 to $1,190, for a small 1-bedroom or compact 2-bedroom apartment.

These neighborhoods attract young professionals because Alicante and Elche offer jobs, cafés, nightlife, public transport, coworking options, shopping, gyms and rents that are still easier than prime beachfront Costa Blanca rents.

By the way, you will find a detailed tenant analysis in our property pack covering the real estate market in Costa Blanca.

Where do families prefer to rent in Costa Blanca right now?

Families in Costa Blanca often prefer Playa de San Juan, San Juan de Alicante and El Campello because these areas offer larger apartments, schools, beaches, green spaces and easier daily life.

For 2-bedroom and 3-bedroom apartments in these family-friendly Costa Blanca areas, families usually pay about €1,000 to €1,700 per month, or roughly $1,080 to $1,835.

Families like these Costa Blanca neighborhoods because lifts, parking, pools, storage, terraces, nearby schools, supermarkets and a safer residential feel matter more than nightlife.

Educational options near these areas include local public schools, bilingual private schools around Alicante and San Juan, and the broader Alicante education network used by both Spanish and foreign families.

Which areas near transit or universities rent faster in Costa Blanca in 2026?

As of 2026, the fastest areas near transit or universities in Costa Blanca are San Vicente del Raspeig near Universidad de Alicante, Alicante Luceros and Mercado, and Playa de San Juan along the TRAM.

Good rentals in these high-demand Costa Blanca areas often stay listed for only about 10 to 20 days when the rent is realistic and the apartment is in good condition.

A home within walking distance of the university, Luceros, Mercado, a useful TRAM stop or a major bus connection can earn about €60 to €150 more per month, or roughly $65 to $160, than a similar but less connected flat.

Which neighborhoods are most popular with expats in Costa Blanca right now?

The top expat rental areas in Costa Blanca are Torrevieja and Orihuela Costa, Jávea and Dénia, plus Calpe, Altea and L’Albir for higher-budget coastal living.

Expats in these Costa Blanca neighborhoods usually pay about €800 to €1,600 per month, or roughly $865 to $1,730, depending on sea access, apartment quality and whether the home is furnished.

Expats like these Costa Blanca areas because they offer beaches, international shops, healthcare access, restaurants, airport links, sunny winter weather and strong communities of other foreign residents.

British, Dutch, Belgian, German, Scandinavian, Ukrainian and Latin American tenants are especially visible in these Costa Blanca rental markets, although each town has its own mix.

And if you are also an expat, you may want to read our Sources and methodology: we used Aena, idealista and Engel & Völkers. We matched foreign access with coastal rental patterns. We also used our own expat demand scoring.

Who rents, and what do tenants want in Costa Blanca right now?

What tenant profiles dominate rentals in Costa Blanca?

The top tenant profiles in Costa Blanca are local workers and Spanish households, foreign residents and retirees, and students or young renters linked to Alicante and San Vicente del Raspeig.

As a simple estimate, local workers and Spanish households make up about 40% of long-term demand, foreign residents and retirees about 35%, and students or young renters about 15%, with the rest coming from remote workers and seasonal tenants.

Local workers usually want 1-bedroom and 2-bedroom apartments near jobs, foreign residents often want furnished coastal homes, and students usually want smaller flats or shared apartments near Universidad de Alicante and transport.

If you want to optimize your cashflow, you can read our Sources and methodology: we used Universidad de Alicante, Aena and HOSBEC. We estimated tenant shares from demand drivers, not from one official survey. We also used our own rental enquiry patterns.

Do tenants prefer furnished or unfurnished in Costa Blanca?

In Costa Blanca, about 60% to 70% of coastal and expat-facing tenants prefer furnished rentals, while unfurnished homes work better for local families and longer-stay Spanish tenants.

A furnished apartment in Costa Blanca often earns about €75 to €200 more per month, or roughly $80 to $215, than a similar unfurnished apartment if the furniture is modern and practical.

Furnished rentals are especially popular with expats, remote workers, students, seasonal workers, retirees and new arrivals who do not want to buy furniture before settling in Costa Blanca.

Which amenities increase rent the most in Costa Blanca?

The five amenities that increase rent the most in Costa Blanca are sea view, terrace or balcony, parking, pool, and air conditioning or heat pump.

As a practical guide, sea view can add €100 to €300 per month, terrace €75 to €200, parking €60 to €120, pool €50 to €150, and strong air conditioning €50 to €120, which together can add roughly $55 to $325 per month depending on the feature.

In our property pack covering the real estate market in Costa Blanca, we cover what are the best investments a landlord can make.

What renovations get the best ROI for rentals in Costa Blanca?

The best rental ROI renovations in Costa Blanca are air conditioning, a simple kitchen refresh, a bathroom refresh, new windows or shutters, and durable flooring with fresh paint.

A practical budget is €2,000 to €5,000 for air conditioning, €4,000 to €10,000 for a kitchen refresh, €3,000 to €8,000 for a bathroom, €3,000 to €9,000 for windows, and €2,000 to €6,000 for flooring and paint, with a combined rent lift often around €100 to €250 per month, or roughly $110 to $270.

Landlords in Costa Blanca should be careful with luxury marble, over-custom furniture, very expensive smart-home systems and fragile decorative finishes because tenants often pay more for comfort and durability than for luxury styling.

How strong is rental demand in Costa Blanca as of 2026?

What's the vacancy rate for rentals in Costa Blanca as of 2026?

As of 2026, the effective vacancy rate for good long-term rental homes in Costa Blanca is probably about 2% to 4% in the most liquid coastal and urban markets.

Real vacancy can be closer to 2% in Alicante Centro, Playa de San Juan, Benidorm, Torrevieja, Dénia, Jávea and Calpe, while older inland or poorly presented homes can sit empty for much longer.

Compared with the older official empty-home picture, today’s usable rental vacancy in Costa Blanca feels much tighter because many empty homes are second homes, dated stock or not available for normal long-term tenants.

Finally please note that you will have all the indicators you need in our property pack covering the real estate market in Costa Blanca.

How many days do rentals stay listed in Costa Blanca as of 2026?

As of 2026, a well-priced long-term rental in Costa Blanca usually stays listed for about 10 to 25 days.

Prime furnished apartments in Alicante Centro, Playa de San Juan, Benidorm, Dénia, Jávea, Calpe and Torrevieja can rent in under 10 to 15 days, while dated inland homes can take 30 to 60 days.

Compared with one year ago, good rentals in Costa Blanca appear to move a little faster because rent demand has grown faster than the supply of well-located homes.

Which months have peak tenant demand in Costa Blanca?

The peak months for tenant demand in Costa Blanca are May to September for coastal homes, plus August to October near Universidad de Alicante and San Vicente del Raspeig.

This seasonal pattern happens because summer tourism, seasonal jobs, foreign arrivals, beach demand and the university calendar all push tenants to search at the same time.

The quietest months in Costa Blanca are usually November and early December, although January to March can stay active in Torrevieja, Orihuela Costa, Calpe, Altea and Jávea because northern European tenants often look for winter stays.

What will my monthly costs be in Costa Blanca as of 2026?

What property taxes should landlords expect in Costa Blanca as of 2026?

As of 2026, many landlords in Costa Blanca should expect annual IBI property tax of about €300 to €900, or roughly $325 to $970, for a normal apartment.

The realistic low-to-high range in Costa Blanca is about €250 to €1,500 per year, or roughly $270 to $1,620, because the bill depends on municipality, cadastral value, property type and local surcharges.

IBI in Costa Blanca is calculated on the cadastral value, not the market price, and each town hall sets the rate within the Spanish municipal property-tax framework.

Please note that, in our property pack covering the real estate market in Costa Blanca, we cover what exemptions or deductions may be available to reduce property taxes for landlords.

What utilities do landlords often pay in Costa Blanca right now?

In Costa Blanca long-term rentals, landlords most often pay community fees, building insurance, IBI, rubbish or local owner charges when applicable, and repairs, while tenants usually pay electricity, water, internet and gas.

Typical monthly landlord-paid costs in Costa Blanca can be about €50 to €150 for community fees, €15 to €30 for insurance, €25 to €75 for IBI, and €50 to €150 for repairs and reserves, which is roughly $55 to $160 for the largest items.

The common practice in Costa Blanca is simple: tenants pay the utilities they consume, and landlords pay ownership costs, although furnished premium rentals may include internet or water to make the home easier to rent.

How is rental income taxed in Costa Blanca as of 2026?

As of 2026, rental income in Costa Blanca is taxed under Spanish rules, with Spanish tax residents usually declaring net rental income in IRPF and many non-resident owners paying Spanish non-resident income tax.

Landlords can usually deduct costs such as repairs, community fees, IBI, insurance, agency fees, mortgage interest, accounting and depreciation, but the exact treatment depends on tax residency and the type of rental.

The most common Costa Blanca tax mistakes are confusing tourist rental rules with long-term rental rules, assuming every owner gets the same reduction, forgetting non-resident tax filings, and using Alicante city IBI as if it applied to every municipality.

We cover these mistakes, among others, in our Sources and methodology: we used Agencia Tributaria rental rules, Agencia Tributaria Comunitat Valenciana and Alicante IBI ordinance. We separated resident, EU or EEA non-resident, and non-EU owner cases. We also used our own investor tax-checklist logic.

We did some research and made this infographic to help you quickly compare rental yields of the major cities in Spain versus those in neighboring countries. It provides a clear view of how this country positions itself as a real estate investment destination, which might interest you if you’re planning to invest there.

What sources have we used to write this blog article?

Whether it’s in our blog articles or the market analyses included in our property pack about Costa Blanca, we always rely on the strongest methodology we can … and we don’t throw out numbers at random.

We also aim to be fully transparent, so below we’ve listed the authoritative sources we used, and explained how we used them and the methods behind our estimates.

Source	Why we trust it	How we used it
idealista price report for Alicante province	idealista is Spain’s largest property portal, so its asking-rent data is useful for current market direction.	We used idealista as the main live-market benchmark for Costa Blanca rents in 2026. We treated it as asking-rent data, so we cross-checked it against official and private sources.
Engel & Völkers Costa Blanca rent report	Engel & Völkers is an established real estate firm with a dedicated Costa Blanca rental-price page.	We used this source to validate Costa Blanca apartment and house rent levels. We treated it as a useful private-sector check, not as the only source.
MIVAU SERPAVI	SERPAVI is Spain’s official state rental reference system based on declared residential lease data.	We used SERPAVI to keep our rent estimates grounded in contract-rent reality. We used it carefully because declared contract rents can lag current asking rents.
SERPAVI rent reference app	This is the official Spanish government tool for residential rent reference ranges.	We used the app as a methodological guide for local rent ranges. We did not use it alone because Costa Blanca asking rents moved quickly in 2026.
INE IRAV latest data	INE is Spain’s official statistics agency and publishes the legal rent-update index.	We used IRAV to explain why existing lease renewals can rise less than new asking rents. We kept renewal limits separate from open-market Costa Blanca rents.
Banco de España Annual Report 2025	Banco de España is Spain’s central bank, so it is a strong source for housing-supply and macro-risk context.	We used it to understand whether rent pressure could continue in 2026. We used its national housing shortage context, then localized the conclusion to Costa Blanca.
Fotocasa Alicante province index	Fotocasa is a major Spanish property portal with a widely used housing price index.	We used Fotocasa as a second asking-price check. We relied on it mainly for direction, not for every neighborhood estimate.
INE Census of Population and Housing	INE census data is the official base for housing stock, households and vacancy context in Spain.	We used it to discuss vacancy with caution. We did not treat every empty home as a usable long-term rental home.
HOSBEC June 2026 occupancy note	HOSBEC is the main hotel association for Benidorm and Costa Blanca, and it publishes local occupancy information.	We used HOSBEC as a demand-pressure signal for coastal Costa Blanca. We did not treat hotel occupancy as rent data.
Aena Alicante-Elche airport release	Aena is Spain’s official airport operator, so it is the best source for airport traffic evidence.	We used Aena to measure foreign-access demand into Costa Blanca. We linked strong airport traffic to expat, remote-worker and seasonal rental demand.
Universidad de Alicante student release	This is the official university source for 2025 to 2026 student numbers.	We used it to understand student rental pressure around San Vicente del Raspeig and Alicante. We used it for demand geography, not for rent levels.
TRAM d’Alacant official site	TRAM d’Alacant is the official tram and train-tram operator for the Alicante area.	We used it to identify transit-linked rental areas. We connected TRAM access with tenant liquidity in Alicante, Playa de San Juan, El Campello and Benidorm.
Alicante City Council IBI note	This is an official municipal source on property tax rates in Alicante city.	We used it to estimate landlord property-tax costs in Alicante city. We warned that each Costa Blanca municipality can have its own tax level.
Alicante City Council IBI ordinance page	This is the official ordinance page for IBI rules in Alicante city.	We used it to confirm the municipal-tax framework. We used Alicante city as a practical benchmark, not as a single rule for all Costa Blanca.
Agencia Tributaria rental reduction page	Agencia Tributaria is Spain’s official tax authority, so it is the strongest source for landlord tax rules.	We used it to explain resident landlord income-tax treatment. We separated resident IRPF rules from non-resident rental taxation.
Agencia Tributaria Comunitat Valenciana deductions	This is the official tax page for Valencian regional deductions linked to housing and property.	We used it to flag regional tax details that may affect landlords or tenants. We did not assume every owner qualifies because tax deductions depend on personal facts.