It has been barely a year since the approval of the new Housing Law, which, among other measures, establishes limits on rental prices and extraordinary extensions of contracts. The goal was to facilitate access to housing. However, one of the effects it seems to have had is the increase in seasonal rental housing to the detriment of long-term rentals. This effect has been more evident in the stressed areas where supply was insufficient to cover demand.
In fact, seasonal rentals are outside the Housing Law. The Urban Leasing Law and the Civil Code regulate this market in a much more permissive and less concrete way. For this reason, the Government is already studying a regulatory framework for seasonal rentals and, to this end, has created a working group with experts from the sector.
What is seasonal rental housing?
Seasonal rental is for people who need a housing solution for a specific period for study, work or medical reasons. The regulations that control them do not establish the duration, the rent, updating, or how to extend the contract. All of these are issues that can be agreed upon by the tenant and landlord.
The only requirement is a deposit payment: one month if it is intended for housing and two if the property is for other uses. For the rest, the contract must include the reason for the rental, the agreed duration and the address of the tenant's habitual residence.
Changes in the rental market
This greater permissiveness of seasonal rentals has provoked a change in the market. Many owners have decided to avoid the restrictions imposed by the Housing Law and switch to this other modality, even though they cannot benefit from tax exemptions.
The result has been a notable increase in temporary rentals in cities such as Barcelona, Madrid, San Sebastián or Málaga. Only in small provincial capitals has this change in trend not occurred.
A new market regulation?
A few months ago, the Ministry of Housing and Urban Agenda began a round of conversations with agents involved in the rental housing sector, homeowners' associations and property chambers.
At the moment, there have been some proposals. For instance, limiting the temporary rental to six or twelve months, the obligation to reliably justify the need for this type of rental or that the contract specifies the renunciation of the possibility of acquiring the home.
In any case, for now, these are only proposals that may or may not get included within the framework of the Urban Leases Law in a specific article. It would regulate them and establish a sanctioning regime in case of fraud. Nevertheless, owners and property agents do not seem inclined to accept a more restrictive rule on seasonal rentals.
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Very useful information. Thank yo