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27-01-2021

Coronavirus rental support measures

With effect from 2-4-2020, several measures are established to support the rental of the most vulnerable families and groups, whose incomes have been reduced by the paralysis of economic activity during the health crisis produced by COVID-19.

Situation of vulnerability (RDL 11/2020 art.5 and 6)
a) The application of the measures regulated in RDL 11/2020 require that the tenant’s situation of vulnerability be accredited, for which all of the following circumstances must be present:

Unemployment situation, Temporary Employment Regulation Expedient (ERTE), or reduction of working hours due to care of the tenant, or other similar circumstances involving a substantial loss of income, in case of being an entrepreneur.
That the total income of the members of the family unit does not exceed, in the month prior to the application for the moratorium:

  • three times the IPREM, in general;
  • four times the IPREM, when any of the members of the familiar unit has a disability superior to 33%, situation of dependency or disease that incapacitates him/her of accredited form permanently to carry out an occupational activity; and
  • five times the IPREM, when the tenant suffers from cerebral palsy, mental illness, or intellectual disability, with a recognized degree equal or superior to 33%; is a person with a recognized physical or sensory disability equal or superior to 65%; or has a serious illness that incapacitates the person or his caregiver to carry out a work activity.

The above limits must be increased:

  • by 0.1 times the IPREM for each dependent child in the family unit;
  • by 0.15 times the IPREM for each child in the case of a single-parent family unit;
  • by 0.1 times the IPREM for each person over 65 years of age who is a member of the family unit.

For these purposes, the family unit is understood to be that composed of the person who owes the rent, his/her spouse not legally separated or registered domestic partner and the children, regardless of their age, who reside in the dwelling, including those linked by a relationship of guardianship, custody or foster care and his/her spouse not legally separated or registered domestic partner, who reside in the dwelling.

That the rental income, plus the basic expenses and supplies of the habitual dwelling – electricity, gas, heating oil, water, fixed and mobile telecommunication services, and community fees -, is greater than or equal to 35% of the net income received by all the members of the family unit.
That the tenant or any member of the family unit that lives in the house is not owner or usufructuary of another house in Spain. Except:

  • that the property or usufruct falls only on an aliquot part of the same one and has been obtained by inheritance or by means of transmission mortis causa without testament;
  • that the unavailability of the same one is credited by reason of separation or divorce, by any other cause foreign to their will; or
  • when the dwelling is inaccessible due to the disability of its owner or of any of the persons that make up the cohabitation unit.

b) Accreditation. For the accreditation of these circumstances of special economic vulnerability the following documents must be presented:

  • Workers employed by others: certificate issued by the managing entity of the benefits, of the unemployment situation. It must include the monthly amount received.
  • Self-employed workers: certificate issued by the AEAT or by the Autonomous Autonomous competent regional body, on the basis of the declaration of cessation of activity declared by the interested party.
  • Number of persons living in the dwelling: family book or document accrediting domestic partnership, certificate of all the persons registered in the dwelling, when presenting the documents and in the previous 6 months.
  • Declaration of disability, dependency or permanent incapacity to carry out a work activity.
  • Ownership of the goods: simple note of the service of indexes of the Registry of the Property of all the members of the familiar unit and deeds of sale and purchase of the housing and of concession of the loan with mortgage guarantee.
  • Responsible declaration of the debtor or debtors relative to the fulfillment of the requirements demanded to be considered without sufficient economic resources according to RDL 11/2020.
  • In case of not being able to provide any of the related documents, responsible statement justifying the impediment that, in relation to the health crisis, prevent him/her from doing so. However, after the end of the state of alarm and its extensions, you will have one month to provide them.

Eviction proceedings and evictions (RDL 11/2020 art.1)
Once the state of alarm has ended and the terms and procedural deadlines suspended during the state of alarm have been reinitiated (RD 463/2020 addic.disp.2 ª), if during the processing of the eviction procedure the tenant can prove before the Court his situation of social or economic vulnerability, derived from the paralysis of the activity by the COVID-19, and that it is impossible for him to find another dwelling for himself and the persons living with him in the rented dwelling, the lawyer of the Administration of Justice must communicate it to the competent social services and if, understands that the situation of vulnerability is present, he will decree the suspension of the launching, retroactively, and for the time strictly necessary, in agreement with the social services, until the measures that they deem appropriate are adopted, for a maximum period of 6 months from the entry into force of RDL 11/2020 – until 2-10-2020-.

In order to apply this suspension it is required:

  • that the purpose of the contract is the lease of a dwelling subject to the LAU;
  • that the situation of vulnerability is accredited with the contribution of the exposed documents.

In the event that the lessor accredits, in the terms set out above, that he/she is also in a situation of vulnerability as a result of the health crisis, the lawyer of the Administration of Justice must communicate this to the competent social services for their consideration regarding the extraordinary suspension period and the social protection measures to be adopted.

Moratorium of tenancy debt (RDL 11/2020 art.3, 4, 7 and 8)
A moratorium on leasehold debt is established for tenants of habitual residence in a situation of economic vulnerability due to COVID-19. To this effect:

Until 2-5-2020, tenants of housing with contracts subject to the LAU and in a situation of economic vulnerability may request to their the temporary and extraordinary deferral in the payment of the rent, when they had not already reached an agreement in this regard.

For its part, the lessor:

When it is a company, public housing entity or a “large holder”, within 7 working days, has the choice between:

  • a 50% reduction of the rent for the duration of the state of alarm and the following months – up to a maximum of 4 – when the situation of vulnerability so requires; or
  • a moratorium on the payment of the rental rent, automatically applicable for the duration of the state of alarm and extendable in each monthly payment up to a maximum of 4 months, when the situation of vulnerability so requires.

If the lessor is another private individual not considered as a “large holder”, he will communicate to the lessee, within a maximum period of 7 working days, the conditions of deferment or deferred payment of the debt that he accepts or, failing that, the possible alternatives that he proposes in relation to the same. If no agreement is accepted, the tenant in a situation of vulnerability can resort to the aid program of RDL 11/2020 art.9.
Once the moratorium has been agreed, from the following monthly payment to the date of the end of the state of alarm or to the end of the 4-month period granted, the rent will be paid in installments and without interest for a minimum of 3 years, but always within the term of the contract or its extensions.

However, the moratorium on the payment of the rent and the payment in installments will be lifted when the tenant has access to the transitory financing aids established in RDL 11/2020 art.9.

When the lessee has benefited from a moratorium without meeting the requirements for it, he/she will be liable for damages and expenses generated by it, which may not be less than the benefit unduly obtained.

Lease contract (RDL 11/2020 art.2)
For lease contracts whose mandatory extension period (LAU art.9.1) tacit extension (LAU art.10.1) ends between 2-4-2020 and 2 months after the end of the state of alarm, an extraordinary extension for a maximum period of 6 months may be applied at the request of the lessee and upon acceptance by the lessor, during which the same clauses and conditions established for the same will continue to apply.

Public aid (RDL 11/2020 art.9 to 12 and trans.1ª)
Together with the above measures, the following have been agreed:

  • Line of guarantees to cover, on behalf of the State, financing for tenants in situations of social and economic vulnerability as a result of the expansion of COVID-19.
  • Aid program to help minimize the economic and social impact of COVID-19 on rentals of permanent housing.
  • Aid program to help minimize the economic and social impact of COVID-19 on rents for regular housing.
  • Replacement of the aid program for people in a situation of eviction or eviction from their usual housing (RD 106/2018) by the new aid program for victims of gender violence, people subject to eviction from their usual housing, homeless people and other especially vulnerable people regulated in the following article.
  • Modification of the program for the promotion of the rental housing stock.