The Ministry of Social Rights, Consumer Affairs and the 2030 Agenda, headed by Pablo Bustinduy, has opened an investigation to various real estate agencies that they would have engaged in abusive practices against tenants in the management of the rental.
As this ministry was able to confirm, the companies investigated operate throughout Spain, without however detailing the names of the agencies or the number of those which are the subject of the investigation. Concretely, they try to detect if they have committed abusive practices towards tenants such as collection of commissions for lease managementthe imposition of temporary contracts without the temporality being justified. and the inclusion of unfair clauses.
The General Directorate of Consumer Affairs learned that these practices were being implemented through various complaints filed by consumer associations. The organization recalls that the transfer of property management and contract formalization costs to tenants is a prohibited practice, as is the signing of temporary contracts whose temporality is not justified.
Likewise, the ministry led by Bustinduy recalls that housing is a right and an essential good protected by the urban lease law, a regulation that prevents real estate agencies from including clauses or practices that violate rights that the tenants own.
Failure to respect the regulatory pricing rules the unjustified imposition of conditions on unsolicited benefits and the use of unfair commercial practices are offenses that could be classified as serious and punishable by fines of up to 100,000 euros. An amount which can be exceeded to reach between four and six times the illicit profit obtained.
Concerning the introduction or existence of unfair clauses in contractsthe law specifies that this is a very serious offense, punishable by a fine of up to one million euros. In addition, he can exceed these amounts until reaching between six and eight times the illicit profit obtained.
Concerning the rights of tenants, Consumption has already carried outinformative actions with market operators on potential abusive behavior in rental contracts. These would involve practices that are also contrary to current regulations, such as requiring tenants to pay disproportionate deposits, assuming additional guarantees or having to pay monthly payments in advance.
