The search for security and fewer defaults leads owners to increasingly fine-tune when choosing tenants. The study of payrolls gives way to more requirements such as providing the employment contract, a higher bond or guarantees, which draw an ideal profile very much based on income that restricts access to the market.
With the changes in the Housing law or the noise of the occupations, “the small owner (individuals have more than 90% of the park in Spain) is scared and looks for profiles with more stable salaries,” says Arantxa Goenaga, lawyer and partner of Barcelona Legal Circle. The magic figure is 30%: the rent payment should not take more than a third of the potential tenant’s income. It implies that the interested party has income for triple the rent. The data can be stretched to 40%. It supposes that in a rent of 900 euros the income should be between 2,500-3,000 euros individually or with the couple. Impossible for many: four out of ten homes that already rent exceed that 40%, according to the Bank of Spain.
In recent months, in general, more income requirements and more solvency tests have been observed. To make sure even more, it is even asked that the income be multiplied by four or five the rent. In general, the last two or three pay slips are requested, and if you want to refine more, the employment contract, the work history, an extract from the bank account or that it is guaranteed to be off the list of delinquents. There is no urgency: “With so much demand and little supply, large capitals give the possibility of choosing a tenant, seeking not to make mistakes,” says Ferran Font, spokesperson for Pisos.com. “Officials are preferred. They have no payroll defaults and the income is recurring”, says Oriol Payà, head of rental operations at Housfy.
Another way to protect yourself is to request an additional guarantee per month of deposit. This guarantee by law cannot exceed two months. And among young people, parental endorsement is requested.
With about 15 or 20 interested parties per apartment in large cities, with real estate agencies involved, a sieve is produced where the owner ends up deciding between three or four candidates. “To protect the data, they are sent anonymously,” says Payà.
Fixing attention on income does not guarantee correct use of the home later on. “If the person is problematic, it is the same despite the income…”, says Goenaga. Also, you can get into abusive situations. “They are looking for an ideal, a perfection, beyond the economic,” believes Enric Aragonès Jové, spokesman for the Sindicat de Llogateres de Catalunya. Thus, in some cases it is also necessary to show a good record, with the recommendation of the previous landlord to verify that he is responsible. “It is a defenseless situation because if you are not comfortable with a requirement, you agree out of necessity…”. With so much to comply with, there is “discrimination against young people, single-parent families or immigrants,” he denounces. “The more guarantees we ask for, the more against the vulnerable, those who need rent, we will go,” Font agrees.
Certain profiles end up benefiting. “The ideal are couples, with indefinite contracts of more than one or two years and without children. That they pay on time and in due form, take care of the apartment and do not cause problems for the community”, sums up Jesús Pérez, commercial director of Finaer, a rental guarantee firm. If the income level is not reached, the market offers options. “We guarantee the tenant to give security to the owner”, explains Pérez. Thus, upon payment, he can provide a guarantee for his income if it is low and improve his profile. “Like non-payment insurance,” he says.
