New protections for landlords and agreements with Junts
At the next Council of Ministers meeting, scheduled for 9 December, a decree will be approved to support property owners in cases of non-payment when renting to young people or to “vulnerable groups”. This measure, together with the acceleration of eviction procedures for okupas, is one of the commitments arising from the agreements with the Catalan separatist party Junts. Real estate experts say that this measure comes seven years too late. Moreover, owners have never asked the government for money – they simply wanted to be able to rent out their homes without the fear of ending up with nothing. In this context, tools such as rent non-payment insurance, as well as professional property rental management services in Spain, are becoming increasingly popular among landlords, helping them to reduce the risk of non-payment.
Speeding up eviction procedures for “okupas”
In March this year, the Spanish Parliament approved a bill presented by Junts to reduce the time limits for evicting okupas to a maximum of 48 hours. The bill proposes amendments to civil and criminal legislation so that there are no delays caused by claims of “vulnerability” on the part of the illegal occupants. In addition, in cases of unlawful occupation of property, an immediate court procedure is planned, similar to that used for other minor offences.
More powers for municipalities
The same decree will give mayors greater capacity to invest in projects that are not linked to day-to-day expenditure – such as housing construction, water management and many others. It will also extend the deadline for promoting the digitalisation of invoicing processes in companies, which should simplify administrative procedures and increase transparency.
