The question is common and completely legitimate. Renting what, at a tax level, constitutes the owner’s habitual residence can cause legal problems if the legislation in this regard is not known. We asked experts in the real estate sector to break down all possible cases.
There are autonomous communities that offer a reduction in taxes for young people who buy their first home. One of the requirements is that this be the beneficiary’s habitual residence for the following three years. It is therefore prohibited to rent or sell it during this period, except in very special cases that can be duly justified.
To prove that it is your habitual residence, you must register there within 30 days of signing the deeds. If you later receive rental income, which in any case you should declare, the Treasury would be alerted and initiate an investigation.
If you are not using this home as your habitual residence, the Treasury will consider it a fraud and will claim the amount of taxes defrauded from you. Remember that you have up to 5 years to do so.
If one of your intentions is to sell your house to buy another, you can access an exemption from personal income tax if it is reinvested in a primary residence.
Now, to qualify for this, both—the home sold and the home purchased—must be habitual, which the Tax Agency considers only if you have resided there for three uninterrupted years.
If you rent your habitual residence, it will cease to be so, so you will not later be able to benefit from the exemption for selling it and buying another one.
Remember that, when you rent your home, you can also access bonuses on your income tax return. To do this, your tenant must use the property as their habitual residence and be registered there.
When applying for a mortgage, even if you do not qualify for tax benefits, the bank will need to know if the property will be your habitual residence or if you want to acquire it as an investment. Depending on your plans, it will offer you some conditions or others.
You must state your intentions before a notary when signing the deeds. Deceiving him means committing document falsification, which could entail a penalty if it is discovered.
Of course, if you have been living in the home for more than three years and your life plans change, it is understandable to consider renting as an option to make your property profitable. The bank cannot limit the right to private property with a prohibition on renting.
Only if it is an officially protected home, you should check that its legal regime does not bring with it limitations to dispose of the property.
