Tenant not paying rent in Spain where the law is more pro-tenant than pro-landlord.

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Pexus1976

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I have a Spanish property, we took on tenants early this year, they paid 3 months rent but are now in arrears of nearly 4 months. I've spoken to them a number of times and they keep coming back with excuses, at first they seemed genuine. Unsure now.

They have signed a contract and we have a copy of their photo ID.

What are our options if they decide not to pay the arrears?

All suggestions very welcome, as this is extremely frustrating.

Thanks.
 
Re: Tenant not paying rent, Spanish Property

You're being too nice. Act now and request payment or follow local rules to have them evicted.

With situations like you have described, the most likely outcome is that the tenants will scarper and you will be left out of pocket fully for whatever you're owed. Hopefully the bills are not in your name also or you'll also be stung for those.
 
Re: Tenant not paying rent, Spanish Property

Sorry to hear of this problem. I advise you to begin the process of eviction ASAP - this tenant is now well in arrears and you have tried to work with them, without getting any co-operation from them - the result has been that arrears have mounted up and unless you do something soon it's not going to improve.

I have some understanding of this situation - it's based on the fact that both my sister and I have property in Spain, managed by a Spanish family friend (who conveniently runs a real estate agency) and unfortunately this has happened to my sister on two occasions.

Firstly, you need to be aware that in Spain the law is more pro-tenant than pro-landlord and one of the results of this is that you cannot just evict a tenant for non-payment.
Rather you have to take the tenant to the local court and apply for them to be evicted. The application for eviction can take between 4 and 10 months - depending on which region your property is based in.
You will need to employ a solicitor to represent you for this process - the cost of this is approx. 600 Euro.

Once the case has been considered by the court, assuming all goes 'well' they will issue an order allowing the eviction of the tenant within a short period - usually 3 to 5 working days.
On the nominated eviction day the police / guardia civil will go to the property to supervise the eviction and you will get your property back.

You can then apply to recoup your costs from the tenant - but this is subject to a seperate court process.
Your costs can be recouped in two ways; one, the court will issue an order to the tenant to pay a certain amt each month to you or two; they will force the tenant to sell an asset. Which way is used will depend on the guarantee the tenant offered when signing the contract.
On both occasions when this happened to my sister she declined to proceed as the duration of this process was too long.... so that she ended up out of pocket.

Hope this helps.
 
Re: Tenant not paying rent, Spanish Property

I think you need to look at having someone that you know down there full time looking after stuff for you (maybe you've met someone there?). Or you should look at property management services there.
 
Re: Tenant not paying rent, Spanish Property

Unfortunately, it is extremely hard to evict tenants that are not paying or are even destroying the property in Spain.
It's a common problem for landlords and with the credit crunch it's becoming more and more usual.
Having someone down there wouldn't help either. However, even if it's not of much help, the OP should contact the Police and the Guardia Civil, so that he can show that it has been reported for anything that could happen in the future, such as having to deal with the insurance company.

Apparently, the law is about to be changed because there are way too many cases reported about abussive tenants not paying the rent, or using the apartments to invite illegal inmigrants, so that they have somewhere to stay while they find a job, etc.
You can end up with 20 people in a 30 square mts apartment.
 
Re: Tenant not paying rent in Spain where the law is more pro-tenant than pro-landlor

Pexus1976,

I have had a very similar problem to you. Tenant fine for a year on rolling 6 mts contract - then payments stopped - bad back unable to work was the excuse.

An Irish company was handling the appt. for me and assured me they could get him out through the courts however things dragged on for a few months and no progress.

I went over to Spain to see what the story was only to be told that the tenant had sublet the appt. to a Morocan family.

I went to the Police and explained the situation they came to the appt to remove the squatters but they would not let the police into the appt.

The oroginal tenant then showed up with the rental agreement and the police said there was nothing they could do as there were so many mistakes on the agreement provided by the rental company that the squatters could only be removed under a court order.

I have consulted 2 solicitors and other police officers and they tell me the squatters can stay for 5 yrs. I had the electric and water cut off but they got them reconnected I have little option now but to sit out the 5 yrs or else send in a bunch of heavies and risk prosecution .

My advice is do not do buisness with Irish companies in Spain as this one were totally unprofesional, hope you have betterluck.
 
Re: Tenant not paying rent in Spain where the law is more pro-tenant than pro-landlor

We have been through the same experience. Tenant not paying the rent even though the contract was signed in a solicitors office. Our tenant said that she was laid off at work and didn't have the money to pay us. We were relying on the income from the property to pay the interest only option that the bank reluctantly gave to us. We had a clause written into the contract that if we decided to sell the apartment, that the tenant would have 30 days notice to vacate the property. She did vacate, but took the furniture, the TV etc with her. She also left all the electrical bills and we had to pay them. We sold the property, but had to take a loan out to do so, as the fees were so high with the bank, solicitor etc.. The solicitor did tell us though that if the tenant refused to move out, we would be looking at a court case and that the system favours the tenant. It can also take up to 9 months to get the case heard. I don't know where your property is located but I think that if you intend holding on to it, you need to get a solicitor working on the case immediately. Good luck with it. We purchased the property in 2005 and it was a nightmare from start to finish. I wouldn't take a gift of a property in Spain. I can give you the name of a very good solicitor in who is near Peurto Banus if this would be of any assistance to you.
I hope your situation works out better for you than ours did.
 
Re: Tenant not paying rent in Spain where the law is more pro-tenant than pro-landlor

Had similar problem. Tenents stayed over 2 yrs with 3 months rent paid. Because they have 12 year old child the law went up and down every which way to avoid dealing with it for me. I could not have services disconnected and had a hefty bill for water and electricity. Eventually, just before the vital 3 years was up for them to take permanent posession I got to court and they were evicted. I had to refurbish the apartment fully it was in such a state.
I wish I had taken the route recommended by similar landlords:
they got a heavy gang and left everything outside the door of the app. and changed the locks and secured everything. Never heard anything else.
 
Re: Tenant not paying rent in Spain where the law is more pro-tenant than pro-landlor

Bad as it is, it still sounds faster than the PRTB or courts in Ireland.
 
The law in spain has changed and its not as difficult as it was, go back and have another go
 
Just to update on my previous post I eventually appointed a solicitor and took the squatters to court, I could not believe how quick it came up we were in court in 3 mths. I went over for the case, had to sit in front of the judge beside the squatter! All I can say is I am sorry I did not do this at the very start as the lady judge tore the guy apart from start to finish, I did not have to say a word. She gave him 3 weeks to get out and he did leave but took everything that was moveable with him. I am not to bothered most of it would need replacing anyway. My solictor was brilliant all through, very professional, I was impressed with the whole court procedure and I guess the moral of my story is if you should encounter squatters start proceedings asap as the laws have changed and squatting is not condoned as it was in the past. The big question is what will I do with this appt. now as this episode has destroyed the fun we got from having it and its value has halved.
 
My property is near Puerto Banus and I just got a phone call from the management company who look after the complex that lights were on in the flat and the shutters had been opened up. I really am not sure what to do.

I saw from an earlier post that Dandy had been successful using a solicitor.

Can anyone recommend someone who is competent or point me in the right direction? Many thanks

I saw your post re. the solicitor in Spain. I have squatters in my flat. I don't really use it and am trying to find out how long they have been there. It is near Puerto Banus. Can you point me in the right direction re. solicitors and give me an idea of the cost. I find it hard to believe that the Spainish law is so on the side of a squatter - that I have to continue paying for utilities etc. I just want to try and get this sorted asap. any help would be appreciated.
 
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