Rent: this is the new regulation for tenants and owners

Published on December 28th 2018

The extension of the rental duration is one of the most significant changes

The rental agreements signed as of this Wednesday will be subject to the changes of the new decree. Among them, the rental contracts are extended, the guarantees are limited and the city councils will decide on fiscal measures.

From this Wednesday, owners and tenants are subject to the new rent regulation conceived by the Ministry of Development to alleviate the price tensions experienced by the sector and the shortage of supply at "affordable prices".

The plan of urgent measures modifies several norms in the matter of housing. The most significant changes are the extension of the duration of the rental contracts, the indexation to the IPC of the price increases in the case of "reduced rents", the limit imposed on the additional guarantees to the deposit and the tourist apartments, incentives and fiscal penalties that may be introduced by town halls ...

Alquileres más largos

En los contratos firmados desde este miércoles, el periodo mínimo de duración del alquiler pasará de tres a cinco años, y a siete si el propietario es una empresa. Esto quiere decir que el inquilino podrá permanecer en el piso alquilado hasta cinco años con el mismo contrato.

· Siete años si el propietario es una empresa. Si el propietario es una empresa, el plazo de alquiler se amplía a siete años. La medida ha provocado críticas entre empresas y fondos de inversión, en un momento en el que están invirtiendo grandes cantidades en España. Consideran que se trata de una medida discriminatoria y que crea un desequilibrio entre el tiempo que puede permanecer el arrendatario (de cinco a siete años) y el plazo de preaviso antes de irse (un mes).

Hasta ahora, el periodo máximo que podía permanecer en la vivienda arrendada eran tres años sin tener que renovar contrato. Se trata principalmente de una ventaja para los arrendatarios, que podrán estar más tiempo en un piso alquilado sin necesidad de prorrogar el contrato, por lo que no tendrían que renegociar condiciones como el alza de precios, cuya revisión o indexación a algún índice -IPC, Índice General de Competitividad (IGC)...- podrá ser pactada entre inquilino y propietario. Si pactan una revisión, pero no definen el mecanismo para actualizar el precio, se aplicará el IGC.

La idea, según explican desde Fomento, es dar mayor estabilidad al arrendatario, en un momento en el que cada vez hay más gente que se decanta por el alquiler. Sea por cuestiones de renta, ligadas al estancamiento de los salarios en contraste con los importantes aumentos del valor de venta; o por preferencia, en el caso de muchos jóvenes, la población en alquiler ya representa el 23% en 2017.

Excepciones. No será necesario prorrogar el contrato si, pasado el primer año de duración, el propietario le dice al inquilino que necesita la vivienda para destinarla a vivienda permanente para él o para sus familiares, siempre y cuando procedan a habitarla en los tres meses siguientes a la extinción del contrato.

Up to 600 euros will not rise more than the CPI

A novelty not announced in the draft published in the Council of Ministers, but that did appear yesterday in the text of the BOE, is that "reduced rent" contracts may not have higher price increases than the Consumer Price Index. According to Fomento, the current state housing plan establishes as a "reduced rent" housing whose monthly price does not exceed 600 euros. This measure, however, could constitute a negative incentive, since some lessors could decide to put prices above 600 euros to avoid having to abide by the price limitation of the CPI.

Limit to guarantees

In large cities, where demand multiplies and supply is scarce, it is common for requirements to rent a home to be high. The new plan limits them to a maximum of two additional monthly payments to the deposit. In addition, in the case of companies, it is prohibited to impose the contract costs to the tenant.

Fiscal measures

The Government gives free access to the municipalities to establish incentives or tax charges in the housing market. These, in fact, may use their surpluses to promote their public housing stock.

Bearing in mind that the situation of rents in Madrid is not the same as in Albacete, the objective is that the consistories have instruments and flexibility to act according to the needs of their market.

Bonuses The municipalities may apply a bonus of up to 95% on the IBI fee. The key is that only homes with "limited price rents" will benefit from this incentive. This bonus, however, raises doubts, since, as Beatriz Toribio, director of Estudios de Fotocasa explains, "some mechanism must be established so that the town councils can determine what is a limited price". That instrument, according to Fomento, is what it would take to apply price control.

The signing of a rental contract for stable and permanent use may also benefit from the exemption from the Transfer Tax.

Penalties As a form of penalty, the municipalities may establish a surcharge on the Property Tax (IBI) in empty homes. This surcharge, which had already been established in 2002, may be up to 50% of the liquid quota of the IBI.
 

Source: Expansion

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