The Executive Council of the Generalitat has approved an extraordinary decree law to regulate seasonal rentals that effectively prohibits its use in Catalonia except for attending recreational or tourist events. The Government has decided not to wait for the Ministry of Housing's working group to finish its work to regulate this type of rental because it understands that its “fraudulent use” to avoid rent control has skyrocketed in Catalonia.
The Minister of Territory, Ester Capella, explained at the press conference of the Consell executiu that the Generalitat will introduce a new article in the Housing Law of Catalonia of 2007, which will establish that leases signed for professional, work, study, receiving medical assistance or in moments of transition until accessing a habitual residence will be considered ordinary housing leases, regardless of their duration, subject to the Urban Leases Law and in the case of Catalonia, if they are located in stressed areas, to control income.
The decree, Capella explained, also regulates the maximum rent for renting rooms, establishing that the rent for all elements of the home may not exceed the maximum price set by law for the complete home.
The decree law will come into force the day after its publication in the DOGC, this week, although it will have to be validated by the Permanent Deputation of the Parliament within a maximum period of 30 days. Sources from the Department explained that the parliamentary groups will now have a period of three days to request an opinion from the Statutory Guarantees Council, which in turn will have 12 business days to issue it, and it could then be validated at the next meeting of the permanent deputation, in their opinion. before the elections.
Spokespersons for the department acknowledged that the decree does not have the support of the PSC, necessary to achieve its validation, but they were convinced of achieving it although the measure leaves the housing ministry's work table in practice without content. To achieve this, the decree also includes a reduction from 10% to 5% of the deposits that Incasol retains to return to the owners, in order to allocate those funds to comply with the agreement reached by the Generalitat and Barcelona City Council to finance the construction. of 600 affordable rental homes in the city.
The decree also establishes a sanctioning regime, which can reach up to 900,000 euros for failing to comply with the requirements of the state housing law. This will be when a very serious violation is carried out: rents that exceed the index by more than 30% or that include a false cause in the contract. The violation will be minor when the rent exceeds the index by between 10 and 20% or when the contract does not state a cause, or when management expenses are passed on to the tenant, and minor when the price of the index is not stated, or the last income, or the status of large holder is not reported, or the income exceeds the index by less than 10%.
Seasonal rentals have skyrocketed since the approval of the housing law in April of last year, and according to data from the Idealista portal it already concentrates 30% of the supply in Barcelona, where many owners use it to avoid rental caps. .
