• Housing Alert for the stagnation of the 'brick'

Half a year after the entry into force of the last royal decree law of the rent approved by the Government, the sector begins to take stock and the conclusions are not as optimistic for some as initially expected. This is the case of a growing number of owners , who have begun to express certain reservations when putting their homes in the lease circuit before the feeling of lack of protection.

The continuous fluctuations in the regulation have generated some insecurity that has led many of them to lock their property. In fact, according to the analysis of File of Tenant Tenants , the number of homes for rent in our country registered an average growth of 1.95% in 2019, compared to 7.66% the previous year, bringing the national average It is situated in 7.9 rental properties per 100 inhabitants.

Sergio Cardona , director of Studies of the company, speaks of a "significant collapse" in the last 12 months and warns that legislative changes and current political-economic instability is affecting the market. "They are the most immediate consequences of legislating with their backs to the market and without taking into account the real needs of landlords and tenants," he lamented in statements collected by Europa Press.

The Government approved in the last Council of Ministers of the last legislature a royal decree law on reforms of the rental market that, among other aspects, included extending the period of mandatory extension of rental contracts from three to five years or limiting to two months of rent the additional guarantees to the deposit.

These measures reinforced the guarantees for the tenants and chose the balance in their favor, to the detriment of the owners. "We have detected that approximately 10% of homeowners for rent have decided to temporarily close their rental homes due to the insecurity caused by recent regulatory changes and the increased risk of default," said José Ramón Zurd o, CEO of the Rental Negotiating Agency .

Concern about default

Evictions for rent have risen in the last two years almost parallel to the increase in lease prices. According to the data of the General Council of the Judiciary, between April and June 2019 they represented 66% of all the launches that occurred in the country; In other words, there were 9,802 cases out of a total of 14,756.

The continuous increase in prices has raised the effort of families to pay the income (the part of the salary they allocate to the rent quota); in several communities, this effort already exceeds the recommended 30% and in cities like Madrid and Barcelona, ​​even 40%. The higher the debt, the greater the risk of default.

In addition, in the sector they warn that the royal decree has not only generated a sense of lack of protection among smallholders, but has also contributed to raising rents more in some already stressed areas. Just the opposite of what was intended. In those areas, they say, the demand has not relaxed in the face of an increasingly reduced supply, which inevitably pulls up rents.

The data endorses it. According to data released by Fotocasa yesterday, the price of rental housing experienced a year-on-year increase of 1.7% throughout the country, although in Madrid and Catalonia - two of the regions where the rental bubble is most evident - increases were 6.5% and 2.4%, respectively.

As for housing prices by province capitals, Barcelona is the only city that exceeds 16 euros per square meter (16.09 euros); followed by Madrid (15.43 euros per square meter per month), San Sebastián (12.82 euros), Bilbao (12.25 euros) and Palma de Mallorca (11.06 euros), with prices exceeding 10 euros per square meter per month.

In Barcelona, ​​the city with the highest price per square meter is paying 1,287 euros per month on average for a house of 80 meters; In Madrid, the amount amounts to 1,234 euros per month.

According to the criteria of The Trust Project

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  • Madrid
  • Barcelona
  • General Council of the Judiciary
  • Catalonia
  • Rental

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