michaelb0908

Hi everyone..

I'm hoping someone can help me.
I signed and took on an 11 month rental contract in June 2009 and went through a wee bumpy period over winter last year with reduced hours of work etc and used up my bond for one month then the following month was a little short but in the end i got myself back up to a level playing field by the beginning of May this year - with the exception of the bond (equivalent to one months rental).
Now, since then i haven't signed a new contract as i have been back and forward to the UK sorting out various family problems but now i am back and found out that the work situation is dire to say the least and basically i am unemployed with no prospect of further work until April next year when the season starts again.
I have very little money, just enough to buy food at the moment but i do have the possibility of one or two nights work in the coming weeks.
Incidentally i have paid every months full rent between May this year up to date.... and i have 2 weeks to go before the next months rent is due.
So, now you have the background here are my questions lol:

I hear from everyone that the rights are on the tenants side here in Spain, so if i offer to pay at least something every month can they throw me out?
Is it good that i haven't signed the contract? (the agent has been asking me lots of times but i've never been here) Does it give me more rights especially as i've been continuing to pay the rent?
I am due to fly back to the UK for Christmas with my parents and depending on a health issue i was going to come back early January but i obviously won't bother just in case they've changed the locks - thrown me out - can they do that?
I have heard also that because i didn't sign the new contract then the agent hasn't got a leg to stand on and effectively i can remain in here now for up to 5 years.

I am just really looking for some clarity on this, and the worse case scenerio is that i don't get any more work for the winter my summer work usually pays really well, well enough to catch up on any arrears.. so what's the situation if i can't pay anything?

Many thanks for any help/advice.

MB

shellou

Im sorry to hear you have found yourself in this difficult financial situation and I cannot profess to be an expert in the rights of squatting in Spain (which is in effect what you will be doing if you do not pay rent and still live in the property)

All I can say is that as a rental owner I would be in big financial trouble myself if my tenant did not pay their rent. Are you paying/will you continue to pay your utilities bills? are the bills in your name or do you pay the landlord/agent directly. All these things I guess would need to be considered by the landlord/agent on top of the issue of non payment of rent.

Whilst i really do sympathise and I know you are trying to think of the right way to deal with this I do think it is wrong to expect to live somewhere without paying and I would not bother taking the legal route if someone pulled a fast one on me. Tenant would be out, locks changed, belongings disposed of.

Sorry but many property owners are struggling financially too and cant afford to be a charity.

I really hope you do get it solved amicably.

i would suggest seeking legal advice before you make any decisions

SueG

There is now a quick route to get Tenants out who don't pay. We have a client who this happened to in the summer and the court hearing is this month - virtually unheard of!

snikpoh

Like shellou, I am also a property owner renting many apartments.

We've been in this position many times but on the other side of the fence. Whilst it's hard for the tenant, it is equally hard for the landlord.

You have to understand that this may be their only income too. So if you don't pay, or pay less than you should, then they may not be able to make mortgage payments or even worse!

It may be hard, but you have to be honest, if you can't make the full payments each month (including all bills), then you need to move on.

Whilst I understand that you are in a mess, please don't make anyone else's life a mess by defaulting on the rent.

By-the-way, the landlord has every right to demand the bond. It is illegal to use this money in any other way than as a bond (ie. it can't be used to pay rent etc.). The purpose of the bond is towards any damages when you come to leave the property.

After all that, I really do hope it works out for you.

alig2010

My understanding is that the reason landlords use an 11 month contract is so that you don't get the tenant rights. If you sign a 12 month contract and then sign on again then you do have the right to continue to rent the apartment for 5 years. However, it doesn't give anyone the right to continue to live in the apartment rent free for that period.

From what you say I would guess that you don't have any automatic tenant's rights because a) you didn't have the 12 month contract and b) you haven't renewed the contract in any case. The law did change last year so that landlords now have quicker access to the courts to evict non-paying tenants. So either way it won't be too difficult for the landlord to evict you even if they do so through the courts rather than just turfing you out. As you will be a non-paying tenant without a contract I suspect that it is you, and not the agent, who hasn't got a leg to stand on.

I sympathise with your plight but you need to either ask your landlord to wait for the rent (good luck with that) or move out. From what you say it will be very difficult for you to manage here financially over the winter even if you aren't paying rent, so is staying here the best thing to do in any case?

Fredbargate

Especially when the guy with the baseball bat comes round

jdr

11 months or 12 months, it doesn`t matter how long the contract is unless it is stated short term holiday let in the contract and then of course the rent price is vastly different, nobody has 11 month holidays.
The tenant can stay up to five years if they want to and have paid the rent on time each month.
If it is the tenants habitual residence then the landlord will struggle to get the property back unless they prove they need it for their own habitual residence.

snikpoh

JDR, I think you will find that this is no longer the case due to a change in law recently (actually I know it's not true due to recent legal judgements).

As far as local judges and abogados here are concerned it IS the duration of the contract that matters and not whether it states 'short term contract' or not.

I suspect this is another case of no one really knowing what the exact (legal) situation is.

avocados

JDR is correct (well almost); Snikpoh is incorrect.

Duration of contract is irrelevant, just like the ramblings of lawyers that haven't studied/examined L.A.U.

The recent law change is very specific. The landlord can reclaim the property at yearly intervals if they require it for immediate relatives (parents, themselves, children) if it has been specifically mentioned in the contract prior to signing. The terms have to be very specific and not be casual in nature. The landlord/relatives then have a period of time, when the tenant leaves (possibly three months) to move into the property. If they do not move in to live permanently in the house, they must allow the former tenant the right to retain the property and also pay compensation for the unlawful removal costs, etc.

avocados

I hope you enjoy your time in prison!!

It is illegal in virtually all circumstances for the landlord to enter the property, without judicial intervention. Not even the police can enter unless a crime is in progress or they have a court order. Otherwise it is a criminal offence. Clauses in bespoke contracts authorising access are illegal and therefore void.

To dispose of a tenants belongings is also a crime. You would have to hire a removal company and put the items in storage.

I addition, cutting off the utilities is illegal as it constitutes COERCION - another crime.

shellou

If someone squatted in my property causing me financial problems and running up utilities bills in my name, regardless of the law I would ensure they were no longer able to access the property and their belongings removed regardless of the law.

jdr

A short spell in Alhaurin will change your mind.

jdr

Exactly.

snikpoh

OK. I stand corrected. BUT, a local judge has just ruled differently, the tenant had not paid the rent or any bills for two consecutive months. The judge ruled in favour of the landlord and instructed the tenant to vacate with the help of the Guardia.

Does that mean that I should clearly state in all contracts that this is a 'short term agreement'? Where do I find the correct wording because the abogados and letting agents that I have used say they can't help?

shellou

If there contract had expired, there was no evidence of them living there as no personal belongings, they didnt have a key to the lock and none of the neighbours had recently seen them then i wonder how they would prove they were in fact squatting!!