Complete information: housing rental
One of the most important decisions in the lives of consumers is how and where to live. To do this, two possible alternatives are proposed, renting or buying a home.
Before renting a home and committing to a rental contract, it is important to take into account several aspects to start this new stage with guarantees. When can I terminate the contract? Can they raise the rent when the landlord wants? What happens if I share a flat with more people? These are some of the questions that must be taken into account.
Definition and types of housing
The lease or rental of a dwelling consists of the assignment by the owner (lessor) of the use and enjoyment of a dwelling for a certain time to another person (lessee) who, in return, pays a certain amount of money (income) freely agreed between the parties.
There are two classes of leases when we rent a home. Most consumers find ourselves in the first case:
They are those that have an area of, at most, 300 m², or the initial rent that is requested for them corresponds, at most, to 5,5 times the minimum interprofessional salary.
They are those that have an area greater than 300 m², or an initial rent is requested for them that exceeds 5,5 times the minimum interprofessional salary.
Rental contract
The lease must be formalized in writing and you have to specify at least the identity of the contracting parties (lessor and lessee), the description of the dwelling that is rented, the duration of the contract, income initial, a copy of Energy efficiency certificate of housing, as well as other clauses that the parties agree.
The duration of the contract is freely agree Between the parts. In the event that it is less than five years (seven in the event that the lessor is a legal entity), The contract will be renewed mandatorily every year, up to a maximum of five (seven if the landlord is a legal entity). Unless the tenant notifies with thirty days in advance to the date of renewal of the contract, that he does not want to continue renewing it.
Nor will the mandatory extension of the contract for five years proceed, when, expressly included in the contract and the landlord states the need to occupy the home, to use it as a permanent home for himself, for a relative in the first degree of consanguinity or for his spouse, in case there is a separation or divorce decree before five years .
In this case, the landlord must have respected the rent for one year and subsequently notify the tenant, at least with two months in advance to the date on which the home is going to be needed, that you need the home and indicate the reason for which you need to recover it.
After the first five (seven if the landlord is a legal person) mandatory years of the contract, if neither party notifies the other, in advance of four months in the case of the lessor, and two months in the case of the lessee, his will not to renew it, the contract is mandatorily extended for annual terms up to a maximum of three. If in any of these annual renewals the tenant decides not to continue renewing the contract, he must notify the landlord one month in advance.
As a tenant you can withdraw early from the contract after the first six months, provided that you notify the landlord 30 days in advance. However, the parties may agree in the contract a penalty in case of withdrawal of the tenant, equivalent to one month for each year of the contract that remains to be fulfilled. Periods of time less than a year will give rise to the proportional part of the compensation.
Termination of contracts
The contract can be terminated when one of the parties fails to fulfill its obligations. In this sense:
- Failure to pay rent or other amounts established in the contract.
- Failure to pay bail.
- Non-consensual sublease or assignment.
- Damage to the home or non-consensual works.
- Annoying, unhealthy, noxious, dangerous or illegal activities.
- Allocate the house to other uses or leave it uninhabited.
- The landlord fails to make the necessary repairs to keep the dwelling in habitable condition.
- The landlord carries out some kind of disturbance in the use of housing.
Remember that...
In the event that the landlord's right to the rented home is resolved due to, among others, a foreclosure, an eviction, the exercise of a right with the option to purchase, the tenant will have the right to continue with the lease until that the established five or seven years are completed.
When a rental contract is formalized, the payment of the ITP (Property Transfer Tax). It is up to the tenant to pay it and the amount will be for the entire duration of the rental. The term to enter it is 30 business days from the formalization of the contract. You can consult all the information in the section of expenses and taxation of the housing area of the Community of Madrid.
In case of early termination of the contract, the parties may agree that the lessee pays the lessor an indemnity equivalent to one month of the rent in force for each year that remains to be fulfilled. Time periods less than a year are calculated proportionally.
The rental contract can also be terminated, because the competent authority declares the ruin of the property, or the leased property is disabled due to a cause not attributable to the lessor (for example, an earthquake).
Surety
It is mandatory and is formalized at the time of signing the contract. The payment corresponds to the tenant and is equal to the value of the lease of a month. The lessor deposits this deposit in an account authorized for it in his autonomous community. In the case of the Community of Madrid, the deposit is made through the Social Housing Agency of the Community of Madrid.
This amount is returned in full to the tenant when the contract ends. If there has been any damage to the home (other than normal use), repair costs will be deducted from the amount of the deposit.
if after one month from handing over the keys the tenant has not received the deposit, he can claim not only the refund of the amount but also the interest that has been generated.
The parties may agree in the contract other additional guarantees to the deposit, which may not exceed two monthly rent payments for five-year contracts (seven if they are legal entities).
The bail is can update once the first five years of the contract have expired (seven if the lessor is a legal person). However, each time the rent is extended, the landlord may require that the deposit be increased, or the tenant that it be decreased, until it is equal to one or two monthly payments of the current rent at the time of the extension.
Rent
Rent is the amount of money that the tenant pay the landlord for rent. It is an amount that is freely agreed between the parties. Except for another type of agreement, the rent payment is monthly and it will be done in the first seven days of the month. The rent may be reviewed each year, under the following rules:
- The parties may agree on the update mechanism, this is a fixed percentage, or any other index or method they deem convenient.
- If the contract expressly provides for the revision of the rent but does not specify the index or mechanism to be used, it will be updated by applying the last annuity of the Competitiveness Guarantee Index, on the date of each review, taking as the reference month for the review the one that corresponds to the last index that was published on the date of review of the contract.
- In any case, the increase produced as a result of the annual update of the rent may not exceed the result of applying the percentage variation experienced by the Consumer Price Index on the date of each update, taking as the reference month the one corresponding to the last index that was published on the date of update of the contract.
- Between January 1 and December 31, 2024, the increase in rent may not exceed 3% (according to article 46 of Royal Decree-Law 6/2022, of March 29).
- If there is no clause in the contract that establishes the update, the rent cannot be updated.
The landlord can demand the new rent from the tenant from the month following his written notification. The communication must include the percentage that has been applied and, if the tenant requests it, the corresponding certification from the National Institute of Statistics.
El paid It is carried out in the place and in the manner agreed by the parties (for example, in cash, by direct debit, by depositing into an account, etc.). If nothing is agreed, payment will be made electronically. The lessor is obliged to provide the lessee with a receipt or receipt of the payment of the rent, unless it is duly accredited by other means, for example, with the receipt of the bank deposit.
Other rules for the payment of rental income
The rent can increase if improvement works are carried out on the home, but only if they are carried out after the five (seven if it is a legal person) year term of the contract has elapsed. The increase cannot be greater than 20% of the current rent at that time.
It can be agreed between the parties that the tenant is responsible for certain expenses, such as general for the adequate support of the property (community expenses, garage, etc.), those of the services (water, electricity, telephone...) and those of the taxes that fall directly on the leased property (for example, the tax on real estate ).
The parties may agree that, for a given period, the obligation to pay rent is replaced, totally or partially, by the tenant's commitment to reform or rehabilitate the home. If the tenant does not carry out the works in the agreed terms and conditions, the lessor can terminate the contract.
Subrogation, preferential purchase and other rights of tenants
As a tenant of a rental home, you have recognized rights in the event, among others, that the tenant dies or decides to sell the rented home:
If the tenant dies, they can be subrogated in the contract:
- The husband who lived with him at the time of death.
- The person who has lived with the tenant permanently in a relationship such as that of the spouse, during the two years prior to death. If there is common descent, coexistence is enough.
- The descendants who are subject to their parental authority or have lived with the tenant during the two years prior to his death.
- The ascendants who have lived with the tenant during the two years prior to his death.
- The brothers who have lived with the tenant during the two years prior to his death.
- other relatives up to the third collateral degree (uncles and nephews by blood) with a disability equal to or greater than 65%, who had lived with the tenant during the two years prior to his death.
In leases whose initial duration is greater than five years (seven years if the lessor is a legal person), the parties may agree that there is no right of subrogation in case of death and the lease is terminated respecting the five years of rental (seven in the case of a legal person). However, this waiver of the right of subrogation cannot be agreed in the event that people are in a situation of special vulnerability and it affects minors, people with disabilities or people over 65 years of age.
The person who has the right to subrogate in the lease contract must communicate in a within three months to the lessor the death of the lessee. If he doesn't, the landlord can terminate the rental agreement.
If the owner decides to sell the leased property, the tenant has priority to acquire it, being able to exercise the following derechos:
- right of first refusal, during the 30 calendar days after the decision to sell the leased property, the price and the other essential conditions of the transmission are notified.
- right of withdrawal. When some of the required requirements have not been notified or have been omitted in the notification or it has been sold to another buyer for a lower price or with better conditions, the tenant has the right to challenge the sale and acquire the home in the same conditions as the other buyer.
If the tenant lives with his or her spouse and decides, without the consent of the couple, not to renew the contract, withdraw from it or leave the house, the lease would continue to benefit the spouse. The same right applies to the person who has lived with the tenant, during the previous two years, in a relationship similar to marriage, regardless of their sexual orientation.
In cases of annulment of the marriage, legal separation or divorce of the tenant, his spouse can continue to use the rented home if the judge so determines. To do this, he must communicate, within two months, to the landlord his desire to continue living in the property.
Home improvement works
Who is responsible for carrying out home improvement works? Can the tenant carry out works or repairs without consulting the landlord?
Works in charge of the lessor
The landlord is obliged to carry out the necessary repairs to maintain the dwelling in habitable conditions, with the following exceptions:
- When the deterioration has been produced by the tenant himself.
- When the damage requires the destruction of the rented home for reasons beyond the control of the landlord (for example, fire, flood, etc.).
Even if they are deprived of a part of the home, the tenant or tenant must support the conservation or improvement works carried out by the landlord and that cannot be delayed until after the contract ends. If the works continue for more than 20 days, the tenant has the right to have the rent reduced proportionally to the part of the house that he cannot use.
If, as a result of the works, the house is uninhabitable, the tenant can choose between temporarily suspending the contract or terminating it without having to pay any compensation.
Works in charge of the tenant
The tenant is responsible for small repairs required by the wear and tear of ordinary use of the home.
The tenant may not carry out works that modify the configuration of the dwelling or its accessories, or that affect its stability or safety, without the consent of the lessor.
However, if the tenant, his/her spouse or relatives who live with him/her are disabled, they can carry out the necessary works to adapt the dwelling to their condition, notifying the landlord in writing. In this case, when the lease ends and if the owner so requires, the tenant is obliged to return the dwelling to its previous state.
How to claim
In case of having a problem with the rental of a home, the consumer administrations only will admit claims in which the claimed party is a company; if it is another individual, you will have to go to the courts of justice. Also, you can go to Arbitration Council for Rent in the Community of Madrid.
You can find more information, in the housing section on the website of the Region of Madrid.