The owner is already the one who, according to the new Housing Law approved in April, is obliged to assume the costs of real estate management and those of formalizing the lease contract, in all cases.
Until now, the Urban Leasing Law left the payment of this commission to free agreement between the parties, which in reality almost always fell on the tenant (except when the owner was a legal entity, which did have the obligation to assume it).
The final provision of the new Housing Law modifies this section, compliance with which is imperative throughout the State for those rental contracts entered into as of May 26, 2023 (inclusive), the day on which the legal text came into force.
This measure is therefore different from others in this law that only apply if the autonomous community declares its residential market areas to be stressed. For example, in these areas, fees or expenses that were not included in the previous rental contract cannot be passed on to the tenant.
At the moment, Catalonia alone has proposed 140 municipalities as stressed areas, although they have not yet acted as such until the Generalitat receives the approval of the state government.
Agencies have had to adapt their business models to respond to the new legislation. Failure to do so would be illegal, reportable and punishable.
Housfy Rental, the comprehensive rental management platform, in order to comply with these changes and facilitate their implementation among its clients, has sought ways so that the disbursement does not cause a shock to the owners’ finances.
For example, for those who sign comprehensive rental management with Housfy, the company offers ways to finance fees, interest-free and accrued from rent, during the months following the signing.
Real estate fees for rentals today correspond to either an entire monthly payment or 10% of the annual income, VAT apart. The decision to charge one option or the other will depend on the agency in question or the services it promises for it.
For example, for a rental of €1,000 per month, a commission of one monthly payment plus VAT (21%) would increase this expense to approximately €1,210. 10% of the annual income plus VAT, on the other hand, would give rise to a real estate commission of €1,452.
