Looking after landlords in Spain

Last updated on October 28th, 2019 at 05:08 pm.

The economic crisis in Spain has caused hardship for many people. There has been recent press coverage of the difficulties that mortgage holders and tenants in Spain have found themselves in when they have suffered a drop in income.

It’s not just tenants who have found themselves facing hardship. The  financial difficulties go further and failure to pay the rent by a tenant can cause just as much hardship for the landlord in Spain. He might have a mortgage to pay or depend on the money to rent another property himself.

Not all tenants model good behaviour. Some landlords have had bad experiences of tenants leaving their house in Spain in disrepair causing damage to the paint, flooring and doors. Bills and taxes might have been left unpaid and the landlord can find himself having to clear debts before attempting to let his Spanish property out again.

Some tenants are professional defrauders. They will rent property with the express intention of not paying their rent. They may hamper the landlord’s attempts to protect his property by changing the locks and when the time comes to move on, the house might be stripped of furniture and other transportable items.

Of course, these occurrences are thankfully relatively rare. In the majority of cases letting and renting arrangements in Spain work well and both parties benefit. There are also measures that you can take to try and avoid any difficulties. It is preferable not to let your property out furnished and you should secure a bond from your tenant at the beginning of the occupancy to cover any damage or loss there might be.

If you should be unlucky enough to suffer from a bad tenant in Spain then there are legal steps you can take. The law is now increasingly on the side of the landlord and you do have recourse to the courts if your tenant is proving troublesome.

However, there can be some practical difficulties to this. Occasionally the tenant will ‘disappear’ with no traceable public record. For this reason early intervention when a problem is emerging, is vital. Some tenants have stories of genuine hardship that deserve our sympathy.  Others require swift action to make sure your rights as a landlord are protected too.