Residential tenancies: urgent measures
Royal Decree 7/2019 of 1 March on urgent measures relating to housing and tenancy has been in force since 6 March, amending the regulations governing tenancies, amongst other things.
These measures are the same (with some amendments) as those set out in Royal Decree-Law 21/2018 of 14 December, which came into force on the 19th of that month and which ceased to be in force on 22 January, as we reported in this article.
The main changes introduced are:
Term of the tenancy agreement
The mandatory extension period is set at five years (previously three years), except where the landlord is a legal entity, in which case the period is set at seven years.
Tacit extension
It has been extended from 1 to 3 years.
Notice period
The notice period for giving notice of the intention not to renew the tenancy agreement shall be four months for the landlord and two months for the tenant, once the expiry date of the tenancy agreement or of its five- or seven-year extensions has been reached.
Consequently, in order to terminate the tenancy agreement, once the expiry date of the agreement or of any of its extensions has been reached, and provided that at least 5 years have elapsed if the landlord is a natural person, or 7 years if the landlord is a legal entity, the landlord must notify the tenant of their intention not to renew the contract at least four (4) months in advance. If it is the tenant who wishes to leave, they must give two (2) months’ notice.
Otherwise, the tenancy agreement shall be automatically renewed on an annual basis for a maximum of a further three years, unless the tenant notifies the landlord, one month before the end of any such annual term, of their intention not to renew the tenancy agreement.
Bail
The maximum amount of additional security, in addition to the security deposit, which may be required of the tenant – whether in the form of a cash deposit or a bank guarantee – is set at two months’ rent, except in the case of long-term tenancy agreements.
Rent adjustment
The rent under the tenancy agreement may be adjusted annually in accordance with the terms agreed by the parties. In the absence of an express agreement, no rent review shall apply.
Where there is an express agreement on the adjustment of the rent, it may not be adjusted in excess of the Competitiveness Guarantee Index.
Administration costs
The costs of property management and the formalisation of the contract shall be borne by the landlord, where the landlord is a legal entity.
State benchmark index for residential rents
A new national reference index for residential rents has been introduced; this will serve as a source of information to enable the Autonomous Communities to define their own indices and apply them to their housing policies, with a focus on tax incentives.
With regard to measures for holiday rental accommodation
A three-fifths majority of the owners’ association may authorise restrictions on properties used for tourist accommodation or the imposition of higher service charges on such properties, up to 20%.
With regard to measures relating to evictions:
The following is specified: an obligation on the part of the courts to set the exact date and time of the eviction.
Improvements are being made to coordination with social services to protect people facing eviction in cases of vulnerability; furthermore, the procedure is being implemented and streamlined through amendments to the LEC.
It is provided that a finding of vulnerability shall result in the suspension of the proceedings until such time as the social services have taken the measures they deem appropriate, for a maximum period of one month, or three months where the claimant is a legal person.
With regard to the rules applicable to tenancy agreements:
The measures implemented whilst Royal Decree-Law 21/2018 was in force were in effect for just over a month. The agreements signed during this brief period were fully valid, as were the tax arrangements they entailed.
Following its repeal (22 January 2019), the regulations in force prior to 19 December thus came back into force until 6 March, when Royal Decree-Law 7/2019 of 1 March, on urgent measures relating to tenancies – which we have just described – came into force.
Anna Compte
anna@aurisadvocats.com
Specialties:
Commercial
Civil contracts
Corporate disputes