The Congress of Deputies accepts, three months later, the processing of a bill for the regulation of seasonal and room rental contracts, a crack that the state housing law had left open and that some owners used as a subterfuge. to skip the limits on the increases that that rule established. After the setback caused by the refusal of Junts in September, which had previously said that it would abstain, its approval of the latest changes introduced in the text gives air to an initiative promoted by social movements, with the Tenants Union at the forefront, and that the parliamentary groups of ERC, Bildu, Podemos, BNG and Sumar have brought to the Lower House.
The new bill continues to be, said the representative of Sumar Gala Pin, “drafted by the assemblies of the Tenants’ Union of the entire State.” It mainly incorporates two new features. Temporary contracts must be justified by the lessor and may not exceed nine months in duration. In the previous version there were six. The change, introduced by ERC, aims to adapt this leasing formula to the teaching calendar, to allow teachers and students who have to move from their usual residence during the course to be accommodated. Furthermore, the lessee may withdraw from the contract after half a year, although he must give 30 days’ notice and the parties may agree on compensation for the lessor.
From Junts they have also welcomed a new point that is added to the proposal. “In the cases of the Autonomous Communities that have developed their own legislation on this matter pursuant to article 148.1.3 of the Spanish Constitution, the regional regulations will apply, thus respecting the division of powers,” he indicates. “Our vote today sees our powers protected and will make the debate possible, but do not presuppose Junts’ yes to this text,” said deputy Marta Madrenas, who opted for a record similar to that which the party has proposed in the Parliament of Catalonia. and that goes through “a public registry” to “eliminate fraud.” “We open the door to negotiate. Nothing more, but nothing less either,” he insisted.
Seasonal rentals had been left out of the State Housing Lawapproved in 2023, despite the insistence of the partners on the left of the PSOE, especially Unidas Podemos. This rule establishes that leases must have a minimum duration of five or seven years, depending on whether the tenant is a small or large owner, and also limits the annual increases that can be applied. However, it does not regulate new contracts, so seasonal contracts represented a drain for higher increases.
“We come with a proposal that aims to shrink that waterway that meant not regulating,” said Bildu spokesperson, Oskar Matute, who insisted that they address “the main concern of citizens.” “This chamber is right-wing, it prefers to monitor the interests of dividends at the end of the year,” lamented ERC spokesperson, Pilar Vallugera. The BNG deputy, Néstor Rego, has considered that this proposal “will make it possible to avoid fraud and abuse that should not occur.”
“Spain has a very serious housing problem. It is occupation, because the rentiers are taking people’s lives,” lamented Podemos spokesperson Ione Belarra, who compared the “violence” of the system to the American health system. “Dozens of people have taken their lives after being evicted by a bank, a vulture fund or a heartless administration,” he recalled. Belarra has recognized that the measure that begins to be processed this Tuesday serves to “cover a hole that the PSOE left in the housing law”, but insisted that “much more must be done.”
It is an “escape valve” to state law, ERC even said. In fact, in the explanatory statement, the groups point out that “the execution of temporary contracts and room rentals has in practice become a key figure, used by thousands of landlords, to avoid some of the most guaranteeing precepts of the Urban Leasing Law and the regulation of rents.” Even the socialist wing of the Government has spoken of “fraud.” The minister of the sector, Isabel Rodríguez, has committed to launching, as of January 2, a single registry in which owners who want to advertise their homes for rent on platforms must register those properties and justify the cause in each case. of temporality.
With Junts’ change of position, the norm now faces its parliamentary processing, in which the PNV, which voted in favor, has already said that it wants to introduce changes. Its spokesperson, Representative Maribel Vaquero, has criticized the state law and has pointed out that “access to decent housing is increasingly difficult.” “The insecurity it causes has led to homes being taken off the market and others ending up in unregulated or not well regulated rentals,” he considered. However, he points out that the current text “improves on the previous one, because the possibility of subletting is eliminated” without knowledge of the property.
#Junts #law #prevent #fraud #seasonal #rentals #debated #Congress
