Subletting & Airbnb Spain
What about actually subletting through organizations like Airbnb in Spain? It is not always allowed to sublet your property and starting from July 2018 there will be some new regulations. For example, large rental organizations, such as Airbnb, need to provide information to the Spanish tax authorities.
Subletting in Spain
The Spanish rental law (amended with law 4/2013, of June 4) regulates the rental market in Spain and is aiming to make this more flexible and more dynamic. Important to know is that these changes only apply to leases that were signed after the law of force is changed. Are you planning to buy, sublet or rent a house in Spain, then keep these regulations in mind.
So you’ll have to pay more attention for the rules in future, such as:
- When a rental agreement may be terminated.
- Setting the rent.
- Maintenance costs of your home.
What is Airbnb?
You have probably heard and read a lot about it, but what is the main purpose of Airbnb anyway? It started out as a nice idea to to offer rooms and apartments via an online database for less money than a hotel room. The tenant gets a luxurious house and the owner deserves its bit of money as well.
The growing Airbnb market
It started as a nice idea to earn passive income. The concept is growing in popularity by the day and Airbnb is already a solid competitor to booking.com. Airbnb and Homeaway ensure that more and more owners rent their houses not to normal tenants, but only to tourists. Several short term rental properties eventually leads to more profit. However, because of certain strategies, we see that these procedures are causing problems for normal tenant. Eventually they have no chance to rent a decent property.
Growing illegal market
Because there is so much money more houses will be offered, but not always on a legitimate basis. When it comes to an illegal rental, there are only minimum guidelines regarding to hygiene and safety. Barcelona has taken control and the city has new laws. In addition the municipal fines landlords for illegal sublets. Various cities have followed Barcelona’s procedures, such as Málaga, Sevilla, Valencia, Ibiza, Palma and Benidorm.
Taxes
The tax authorities now want to understand prices and travel dates. Next to that municipalities want to obtain all details of like names of the owners and companies. So the tax authorities try to get more control over the illegal market. The goal is to detect potential owners who rent apartments on a large scale and not give up this revenue and therefore do not pay taxes.
Extra tips
As well as tenant and landlord you have to deal with legal rules that are imposed by the Spanish Government. As a landlord you should clearly state what is included in the rental price. Think of gas, water and cleaning. Or who is liable in the event of damage?
As a tenant, for example, lets you know who stay for any period and whether there are children and pets. This is essential for owners. Otherwise there will be quick though disagreements about the situation.
If one intends to purchase a property in Spain with rental possibilities, it is essential to check this with broker. Not every complex simply allows this. A specialized real estate agency can inform you as a buyer about the possibilities.
