renting in spain

[princess peach]

where would you stand if you were about to rent a property and the landlord wasnt declaring the fact that he was renting his property out.
The person who i am writing this for has been told he isnt allowed to apply for residencia etc because of this.
Does the tennant have a problem,or would it be the landlords problem if the tennant applied for residencia and got caught out.

[Rookiekookie]

Sounds really dodgy - would not touch it with a barge pole.

Sounds like a tax dodge to me

[pilgrim2]

Sounds like they wont be getting a contract which they would need to apply for residencia, I would say your friends are on very dodgy ground. They would be much better off renting with a contract.

[geegee]

I am sure there will be other consequences of not having a contract - the tenand would not have any legal protection and could presumably be kicked out at short or no notice. What about a deposit? If the landlord is insisting on one, with no contract they can kiss this goodbye! On the other hand, the tenant could just refuse to pay the rent, refuse to leave and/or trash the place (not suggesting your friend would do this!) and the landlord would have no comeback - so its risky for both parties and probably a situation best avoided.

Legally not sure who is commiting the 'crime' here - I would have thought the dodgy landlord, but is is equally a crime to knowingly aid someone else to defraud the tax man?? Interesting to hear from the legal eagles on the forum!

[princess peach]

yes he will have a contract,it will be signed tonight before he moves in.
The thing is,it has been done through an estate agent in Gibraltar,the rental property is in spain,and the guy who owns the property is insisting on the rent being paid into his Gib bank account.
We know its a tax dodge,as we were asked by the estate agent if the tennant a resident of spain,(he isnt).they also said at that on no account is he to apply for residencia.
He has also given two months rent(deposit)and he has to give another months rent tonight,when he takes over the apartment and the tennant and owner both check the inventory and sign the contacts.

There isnt anything in the contract that states he must not apply for residency and i would be interested to know,if the landlord turned nasty(which he did yesterday)where would we stand?
would the tennant be protected by spanish law?

Please dont say tell the tennant to forget it,the tennant to be is living with us at present,he has just come over from UK,he has seen several dumps already and really wants this apartment,its just the landlord is being a bit of a tool!

[El Cid]

The tax angle on this is that if you are renting and are tax resident, you must put the catastral reference of your accommodation on your tax return (irrespective of the type of rental contact or even if you don't have one).

That way the taxman can check back to the owner's tax details to make sure he is declaring the rental income.

This was introduced a couple of years or so ago and had a profound effect on the amount of rental income that was declared! That is probably the reason he doesn't want to rent to a resident.

Sid

[geegee]

Would he be covered by Spanish law? Depends on the wording of the contact - is it subject to Gib or Spanish law? Are there any reciprocal arrangements between Gib and Spain? Ok, so he is committed now and relieved to have found an apartment - but if he is at all concerned there is nothing stopping him from consulting a spanish lawyer or gestor and confirming whether the contract is valid in Spain, what protection he has, if any, and most important, what are his personal/legal obligations to declare the arrangement? If he is renting for more than 6 months then he is technically a resident in Spain regardless or not of whether he applies for official residency...

[princess peach]

well,its all gone out of the window anyway.
The landlord had an inventory plates towels,face flannels cups etc...all was going fine,until i pointed out a large ciggie burn on the settee very handily covered with a throw.A chewing gum stain on the rug,covered over with a table leg,and various door frames chewed but covered over with what looked like boot polish.When these items were mentioned the landlord threw a "gay boy"(i have nothing against gays)strop..shouting "thats it,its more hassle than its worth,im not renting it out"
So with that,the agent gave him a complete load of verbal calling him a ham shanker,i gave him a mouthful,and left the rank and filthy apartment,muttering"i hope you do not intend to re let this property to anyone else,as what you are doing is clearly illegal,I know most people who live in this bloque(which i do,as i used to live there for 4 years)and they will gladly inform me of any new tennants,I will be straight down to the spanish authorities to report you"..and that was that.
Obviously,the landlord new exactly what damage had been done previously,maybe it was his little earner when the new tennant eventually moved out."Oh,youve damaged the doors,oh youve got gum on the rug,oh,youve burnt a hole in the settee...i will keep your 2 months deposit".nice little tidy sum of 2,000 euros for him.
Thing was,i knew the previous tennant,and her dog did all the damage,so i knew what i was looking for.Landlord was more interested in how many brown towels there were than ciggie burns and real damage.what a pratt!

[geegee]

Phew, sounds as if your pal is well out of it peach!

[Beachcomber]

Is your friend a non-European? There is now no such thing as a 'residencia' for citizens of EU member states just a certificate stating that they are so and a rental contract is not required for obtaining it.