Renting rooms is gaining ground in a market with tenants who cannot afford an entire apartment and owners who are looking for greater profitability. The latter also do it to avoid the Housing law and its caps on prices or increases, but how they do it can lead to legal problems...
For a shared rental there are two great alternatives, co-tenancy – the traditional shared apartment – and room rental – which is temporary in nature and is not intended to satisfy the tenant's permanent need for housing. The rental of rooms is booming, because it gives more profitability and flexibility to the owner and is not subject to the Urban Leasing Law (LAU) and the price limits established by the Housing Law: it is linked to the Civil Code and the pact between parts.
With this key factor, more than one owner resorts to renting rooms to avoid rent caps. But “the recommendation is to sign the type of contract that adapts to the underlying reality; If you want to rent rooms with shared use of the kitchen, bathroom and common areas, the courts will understand that it is the rental of a shared home and consequently we will be faced with a co-tenancy,” comments Isabel Calero, partner in the real estate area of the BPV Abogados firm.
With the limitation flying over, especially in Catalonia, “there is an increase in inquiries from owners looking for alternatives to obtain greater profitability,” says Calero. Is renting rooms the solution? “We recommend it only if it responds to that reality,” he says.
Although it gives more freedom to set prices, renting by rooms is a controversial issue, more limited and that can give rise to fraud. For it to be legal, Sergio López, partner in the litigation area of the AGM Abogados firm, remembers that a temporary rental must be less than 12 months, that it cannot be the primary and permanent home of the tenants and that the contract must Expressly state the duration and the reason why the rental is seasonal. This would open the doors to renting the property to a company that needs housing for its displaced employees or to students of a short master's degree, he exemplifies.
Problems may arise with the duration of contracts, extensions, rent increases or protection of the tenant, who could be considered helpless.
For example, if you want to avoid continually searching for a tenant and renew it in a temporary rental, you can end up considering it to be your habitual residence and therefore be governed by the LAU and the Housing Law, which protects the resident more. . Successive extensions of a room rental contract would also show that the rental object (room, bathrooms, kitchen and common areas) constitute the tenant's home and therefore that the contract must be submitted to the LAU.
The legal trick to circumvent the legislation can end up in court. With the rental of rooms under the Civil Code, “tenants suffer continuous rent increases, without limitation, of up to 15%,” says Calero, and may end up demanding the protection of the LAU.
The sources foresee greater regulation in the future, because the phenomenon has caught on with a changed foot. “You have to be very careful if you try to circumvent the law, in the end it will be the courts that decide the applicable regulations and whether or not the limits are applied,” he continues. As a solution, if it is an effectively permanent home, to avoid problems, a co-tenancy contract is recommended, signed with all those who will live in the home and who are jointly and severally liable if one breaches the contract.
Regarding the greater profitability sought, “if one has a two- or three-bedroom home, renting rooms may be more cost-effective,” comments Ferran Font, director of studies at Pisos.com. But several factors must be taken into account: they are not always busy; More time and involvement is necessary due to continuous rotation and greater maintenance and repairs. “Imagine having four people using hot water, the washing machine, the dishwasher every day,” he says. With a higher management cost, it can damage the desired extra profitability. “Everything has pros and cons,” he warns.
Previously linked to young people, students or immigrants, the profile of the tenant who rents rooms is changing forcibly: the concept of youth now reaches up to 35 years of age and it is more difficult to emancipate. If before the group of 18 to 25 years old was the vast majority, today they are 51%. Between 26 and 35 are 29% and between 36 and 45 years old are 11%. “They are relevant figures. Reality has been changing,” explains Font. Demand drives prices. In Barcelona the average cost of a room is 645 euros, compared to 534 euros in Madrid, “the most expensive capitals,” she details based on her own data. On the other side is Ciudad Real, with 154 euros.
In the end, complying with the legal section, without mischief, saves problems for a rental that in itself already requires more efforts.
