There are more and more households with pets. Or home pets. In fact, in Spain there are more pets than children under 14 years of age. In 2021, there were more than 29 million pets, according to the National Association of Pet Food Manufacturers (Anfaac). Of these, 9.3 million were dogs, 5.8 million cats and the rest fish, birds, reptiles and small mammals such as rabbits or ferrets. That same year, those under 14 years old added up to 9.2 million, according to the INE. Despite this overwhelming reality, there are too many areas where having a pet is a complication.
When it comes to renting a home, the offer is reduced to the bare minimum. According to the real estate portal Fotocasa, only 5% of rental apartments accept pets. In Idealista there are 11,791 homes for rent in Madrid and only 1,457 allow pets, 12.36%. In Barcelona there are 4,142 houses for rent and only 431 are pet-friendly.
The reasons for this rejection are several. “The main ones are the fear of damage to the home, dirt and odors when the house is vacated, and possible inconvenience to the other residents of the farm,” says Fátima Galisteo, a lawyer at the Galisteo law firm. However, some of those initially reluctant owners may be willing to be more permissive. “If the tenant’s profile is good and they have civil liability insurance, something mandatory in the Community of Madrid, the owner may end up authorizing the pet,” says Nora García, president of the National Federation of Real Estate Associations (FAI). Of course, it is not strange that he asks for a month’s rent as an additional guarantee.
If the owner does not want pets in his home, he must state this in the contract. “The regulatory norm for housing rentals is the Urban Leasing Law and it says nothing about the possession of companion animals or pets. The law, in its article 4, establishes that the contracts will be governed by the agreements, clauses and conditions determined by the will of the parties. For this reason, it is absolutely necessary that the contract contain the express prohibition of the possession of animals”, explains Galisteo. If the contract speaks generically about animals, all of them will be prohibited. And if dogs are not allowed, but cats or hamsters are allowed, it must be reflected on paper. In the event that the tenant lies and brings a pet without permission, he could be evicted.
If, on the other hand, there is no express prohibition in the contract, it will be perfectly legal to have pets. “Of course, the tenant will be responsible for the damage caused by the animal,” adds Eduardo Fernández-Fígares, a lawyer specializing in evictions and head of Lawyers for All. This lawyer says that there are many times that after an eviction the owner has commented that “the dog or cat has left the door frames and the legs of the chairs bitten, the sofa full of hair…”.
In December 2021, animals ceased to be things for legal purposes and began to be considered as living beings endowed with sensitivity after the approval of Law 17/2021. Then, social networks were filled with messages in which it was taken for granted that landlords could no longer prohibit pets in rental apartments. However, the changes that have come into effect do not affect leases at all.
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Finding a rental is just one of the stumbling blocks. The other, and no less fat, is the coexistence between neighbors. The conflict is assured if the pet owner does not act responsibly. Moreover, some wars between neighbors even end up in court. “The star problem in meetings is usually the noise produced by the barking of some dogs; also dirt from excrement in common elements or the movement of dogs around the community without a leash and muzzle. And that, without forgetting the discomfort caused by the use of the elevator with pets, ”says Ana Bozalongo, member of the Legislation Commission of the General Council of Associations of Property Administrators. These activities can be considered annoying, unhealthy or harmful and, therefore, are not allowed.
Although it is important to point out that many conflicts could be avoided if the owner of the animal takes charge of his obligations: “Most of the barking of dogs is due to avoidable causes, either because they are very territorial animals, due to loneliness, illness or for other treatable reasons”, considers Bozalongo.
mediation or court
When disturbances arise, the first measure is usually to censor the owner of the animal, but poor communication between the neighbors involved ends up aggravating the conflict: insults, banging on the walls, threats… The next thing that usually happens is to report the situation to police. “From that moment on, there is an enormous tension between the owner of the dog and the person affected by the noise, which may advise the intervention of a mediator to prevent the problem from escalating”, adds Bozalongo. Property administrator associations can appoint a mediator and many local police forces even have neighborhood conflict brigades that are usually effective in calming things down. “The figure of the mediating police officer is gaining more and more importance in the face of this type of conflict,” says Fabio Balbuena, collegiate property manager.
At the Mediation Institute of the Madrid Association of Mediators (IMAMM) they know well that the issue of pets “seriously harms the much-needed coexistence between neighbors.” Its director, Rocío Sampere, says that one of the most common cases is droppings in common areas. “Internal regulations are drawn up that normally specify how to take pets out on the street, that they cannot roam public spaces and that the owner must clean up the excrement. The difficult thing is to know who has failed to comply or claim the cleanliness”. In a mediation there is a lot of dialogue and tailor-made solutions.
The result is usually positive. “Normally, the neighbors sit at the mediation table, listen to each other, observe the problem and solve the conflict,” explains Sampere. Afterwards, the mediator monitors compliance with the agreement. A mediation session costs between 80 and 150 euros and lasts about 60 minutes.
If none of this has a solution, the community of owners can take legal action, which would lead to different measures. One of the most serious is that the owner has to leave the house for a certain time, compensating those affected. If it is a tenant’s dog, it will be the landlord who claims the cessation of the disturbance or is forced to terminate the contract. “If the landlord omits these actions, the community may approve and empower the president to initiate a judicial procedure for the termination of the contract, considering that these intense and continuous inconveniences exceed normal tolerance,” concludes Bozalongo.
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