2023-12-27 17:33:43
On May 24, Law 12/2023, for the right to housing, was published in the BOE, marking a milestone in the history of Spain as the first regulation of this type. This law brings with it very relevant changes in the relationships between tenants and ownersto promote a more balanced relationship between the two that protects people who live in rent from the speculation of the real estate market and the economic interests of large holders.
Although the new Housing Law establishes clear benefits for tenants, from the first hours of its implementation There are already those who have found ways to avoid each of the changes established by law.
An example of this is the limit imposed on rent increases. According to the Royal Decree approved in December 2022 and the new Housing Law that came into force in May 2023, throughout the year 2023, rents They cannot increase more than 2% with respect to the previous income; In 2024, this limit will be 3%, and from 2025 a new reference index will be established, replacing the CPI.
When Landlords eager for an increase in rents “saw the wolf’s ears” They began to try to close contracts hastily, including clauses that would no longer be legal today.
Landlords’ tricks to “skip” the new Housing Law
They say that once the law is done, the trap is done, and the owners have developed a wide range of strategies to try get around the restrictions which promotes the law approved on May 24 as explained in laSexta Clave. One of them is that of divide the rent of the home into roomsThus, landlords are renting the apartments by rooms, in order to draw up a new contract each time a new tenant enters, and thus be able to raise the limits established by law.
Another strategy has also been detected, which basically consists of change ownership of an existing contract, for example by transferring it to a partner from a current tenant. In this way, a new contract is drawn up and an increase of more than 2% can be made without incurring the detection of illegality.
Regarding the real estate agency commission, which until now was assumed by many tenants, from now on “they will not be obliged to pay the real estate commission or the expenses of management or formalization of the contract” so that these expenses must be assumed by the lessor , who is finally the one who contracts the service.
However, owners and real estate agencies are using a trick to continue charging this burden to tenants, and that is that they continue to charge what would normally correspond to a monthly payment, arguing that what the law prohibits is intermediation and ensuring that the service they are providing is a “customer acquisition”.
On the other hand, the new law for the right to housing prohibits any increase agreed upon by both parties that exceeds the established limit. Likewise, tenants will no longer be able to transfer to the tenant new expenses that they previously assumed themselves, such as those related to heating, water or garbage fees. Despite this prohibition, some landlords are “inflating” prices, trying to compensate for the lack of rent increase of the rent by including additional expenses in the contract, expenses that previously did not fall on the tenants.
#HOUSING #RENTAL #careful #landlords #trick #skip #rent #cap