Yesterday, the Executive Council of the Generalitat approved an extraordinary decree-law to regulate seasonal rental that makes its use economically unviable in Catalonia, except for attendance at recreational or cultural events. The Government has decided not to wait for the Ministry of Housing’s working group to finish the work to regulate this type of lease because it understands that “fraudulent use” has skyrocketed in Catalonia to avoid rent control.
The Minister of Territory, Ester Capella, explained at the press conference of the Executive Council that the Generalitat will introduce a new article in the Housing Law of Catalonia of 2007, which will establish that leases signed for professional, work, studies, to receive medical assistance or in moments of transition until accessing a regular home will be considered ordinary housing leases, regardless of the duration, subject to the Urban Leasing Law (LAU), and in the case of Catalonia, if they are in stressed areas, to the income control.
The minister explained that the decree also regulates the maximum income for the rental of rooms, as it establishes that the rental of all the elements of the home cannot exceed the maximum price set by law for the rental of the complete home .
In Spain there is so far no regulation of room rent, and seasonal rent is excluded from the LAU: it is governed by the Civil Code and the conditions are left to the free agreement between the parties.
Sources in the real estate market explained that medium-term or room rentals have an additional cost for the owner, due to the periods of vacancy between the different tenants. In addition, they require more management to make multiple contracts and more investment in maintenance to adapt the space to the new occupant, so they only make economic sense for the owner with higher incomes than long-term ones. According to the representatives of the sector, with the new regulations they will disappear.
The decree law will enter into force the day after it is published in the Official Journal of the Generalitat of Catalonia (DOGC), this same week, although it will have to be validated by the Permanent Delegation of the Parliament within a maximum of 30 days. Sources from the Department of Territory explained that the parliamentary groups will have three days when it enters into force to request an opinion from the Statutory Guarantees Council, which in turn will have 12 working days to issue it, and it could then be validated at the next meeting of the permanent delegation. In his opinion, despite everything, it could be validated before the elections. If it is not validated, it will lapse and have no effect.
The Government approves the decree before the electoral campaign begins. Ministry spokespeople acknowledged that the decree does not have the support of the PSC, which is necessary to achieve its validation, but they were convinced that they would achieve it, even though the measure leaves the Ministry’s work table empty of content in practice of Housing In order to obtain support, the decree includes the reduction from 10% to 5% of the bonds retained by the Incasòl to return to the owners, to be able to allocate these funds to comply with the agreement reached by the Generalitat and the City Council of Barcelona to finance the construction of 600 affordable rental homes in the city.
The decree also extends the Generalitat’s right of apprehension and retraction to all sales of real estate that are owned by legal entities that are large holders and that are made in tense areas, when until now it only had it in real estate that came from mortgage foreclosures.
The decree also sets a penalty regime, which can reach up to 900,000 euros, for non-compliance with the requirements of the state housing law that allow income control to be applied. The lack of a sanctioning regime left tenants in a precarious situation in the face of non-compliance with the law, since they could only claim in court. Now, on the other hand, both the Generalitat and the local bodies will be able to establish administrative sanctions if the law is breached.
