Renters' Rights and COVID-19: 3 FAQs Answered

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Spain's Royal Decree 463/2020 marked the beginning of the ongoing state of alarm as a precautionary measure against the COVID-19 health crisis. This decree provided a number of measures that have severely impacted the Spanish population. Businesses shut down, tourism halted and many people lost their jobs or were put on temporary leave without pay. Many struggled to pay rent as a result and were met with potential eviction. In an effort to mitigate this problem, the Spanish government enacted legislation specifically aimed at protecting tenants from situations like these in the hopes of reducing the economic strain on its citizens.

Many questions have arisen during this time regarding the rights of tenants, and now that the state of alarm has ended, many are asking if they are still being protected.

These are the most frequent questions raised by tenants during who have been affected by crisis:

1.What should I do if I simply cannot pay the rent due to lack of funds? Are there certain things I must do to protect or maximize my rights?

If a tenant is not able to fulfill the contractual obligations of the lease, the first thing to do should be to request a moratorium or temporary suspension of the contract, or a stay in the eviction process (in the case of an ongoing court procedure), by means of a certified letter (burofax) which provides acknowledgment of receipt by the landlord.

However, to take advantage of this prerogative granted by the Royal Decree Law 11/2020, tenants must prove the existence of the following concurrent conditions:

• You must be in a situation of economic vulnerability. In general, you are in this situation if you are unemployed, your work contract has been suspended (if you’re on ERTE) or your working hours have been shortened resulting in a substantial loss of income. To qualify, the total sum of the rent, utilities and basic expenses must represent over 35% of the net income of the family as a unit.
• House rental lease agreement. It must be a lease contract for a primary residence, and not as a second residence or holiday home.
• Rental property business (large owners). The landlord must own more than ten individual properties and make a business of it (gran tenedor), excluding parking lots and garages, or the landlord must own a large property of more than 15,000 square meters.

If the landlord is an individual, and not a private company, public housing entity or a large property holder, the tenant may request a postponement of the rental payments, but must do so at least one month prior to the end of the state of alarm. If the landlord and tenant do not come to a mutual agreement, the ultimate decision is left to the tenant.

2) If my contract ended during the state of alarm, and my landlord does want to renew, can the landlord force me to leave, or evict me before I’ve had a chance to find a new home?

In July 2020, the Royal Decree 26/2020 provided that, if the lease of a vulnerable individual expires between April 2, 2020 and two months after the state of alarm ends (which was on May 9, 2021), the lease would automatically be renewed for another six months (unless of course both parties agree otherwise). If a tenant has not managed to find alternative housing and the lessor wants to proceed with eviction, the tenant can apply for a stay on the eviction proceedings. If there is no eviction process in place, then the maximum amount of time of the lease extension cannot exceed six months counting from the date of contract’s end.

3. Do the renter protections stipulated as of last year end on May 9, 2021 or have they been extended?

The passing of the law Real Decreto-ley 8/2021, de 4 de mayo extended the protections until August 9, 2021.

If you have questions that you would like answered or are looking for professional advice you can contact Klev&Vera at (+34) 93 17 60 190.

For over 15 years Klev&Vera has specialized in attending the legal needs of international clients in Spain. Klev&Vera’s multilingual team of lawyers and paralegals have many years of experience in big law firms, the public sector and international projects. If you are looking for professional legal advice you can contact them at the Klev&Vera office in Barcelona.

Sponsored by Klev&Vera International Law Firm.

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