Small landlords, big hikes: the other side of Spain's rental market
Rent hikes of 20-30% by individual landlords, 11-month contracts to dodge the law, and a country where personal profit trumps the neighbour. The crisis
English · Original discussion in Spanish · Published
The small landlord who squeezes tenants: 30% hikes without mercy
In Spain, the official narrative points to investment funds as the villains of the rental market. But data on the housing stock show that the vast majority of rental flats belong to individuals. And there, a lack of everyday empathy reaches levels that are hard to justify.
A typical landlord applies 20% or 30% rent increases simply because the market allows it. They ignore whether local wages have gone up or whether they are suffocating a family from their own community. This is not a matter of abstract supply and demand: it is a conscious decision to maximise profit at the neighbour's expense.
Moreover, switching to holiday or seasonal rentals has become common practice. Effectively evicting a long-term tenant to make room for tourists or signing 11-month contracts –dodging the law– shows how individual financial gain trumps social wellbeing. There is no need to build more: there is empty stock from the previous bubble, like Seseña. Boomers, with their stash of empty homes, also bear their share of responsibility.
The general feeling is that in Spain man is a wolf to man. Friendship is a thing of the past and me first, then me, and after me me again prevails. The housing debate is, at its core, a symptom of a culture where empathy has vanished. Either a lid is put on individual speculation or the market will keep doing it: and it won't be pretty.
Related discussions in the forum
In Spain, the official narrative points to investment funds as the villains of the rental market. But data on the housing stock show that the vast majority of rental flats belong to individuals. And there, a lack of everyday empathy reaches levels that are hard to justify.
A typical landlord applies 20% or 30% rent increases simply because the market allows it. They ignore whether local wages have gone up or whether they are suffocating a family from their own community. This is not a matter of abstract supply and demand: it is a conscious decision to maximise profit at the neighbour's expense.
Moreover, switching to holiday or seasonal rentals has become common practice. Effectively evicting a long-term tenant to make room for tourists or signing 11-month contracts –dodging the law– shows how individual financial gain trumps social wellbeing. There is no need to build more: there is empty stock from the previous bubble, like Seseña. Boomers, with their stash of empty homes, also bear their share of responsibility.
The general feeling is that in Spain man is a wolf to man. Friendship is a thing of the past and me first, then me, and after me me again prevails. The housing debate is, at its core, a symptom of a culture where empathy has vanished. Either a lid is put on individual speculation or the market will keep doing it: and it won't be pretty.
Related discussions in the forum
- INSANE: BBVA and IVIE propose that YOUR TAXES be used to buy PRIVATE HOUSING for SOCIAL RENTING by IMMIGRANTS. And that means... · 42 replies
- Shouldn't we already be out of petrol at the stations because of the Iran war? · 42 replies
- The "migrants'" daddy arrives in a €750,000 BMW · 202 replies
- Tesorito times, I had a crush on an ugly guy · 99 replies
Also available in: Deutsch
Summary of a discussion on Burbuja.info - Foro de economía, actualidad y política., translated from Spanish and reviewed before publication. Read the full discussion (18 replies).
More summaries
-
Supreme Court: Tenants Pay IBI Only If Contracted
Spain's Supreme Court rules that property tax (IBI) can be passed to tenants only if explicitly agreed in the lease, while the landlord remains liable.
-
Public housing at market rates: Sánchez's scheme in Spain's small towns
Spain's government launches 1,200 public homes, but many rent for over 1,000 euros in towns of fewer than 10,000 inhabitants. The promised 300,000 remain…
-
Spain's small landlords targeted in rent war
Rents hit €15.3/m² as Maestre labels small owners 'leeches', ignoring 2% yields and legacy bailouts.
-
Riots in French schools: fires and attacks
Fires in French schools, teachers attacked and blockades spreading to Belgium. The unrest is attributed to the education strike and radical groups.
-
Kim Jong-un death rumors: the same hoax already ran in 1971
Rumors of a cerebral hemorrhage and the death of Kim Jong-un with no credible confirmation. The same scoop was already reported in 1971, and nothing came of it then either.
-
Around the World in 80 Days: the miscalculation Verne hid
Traveling east, Fogg crossed the International Date Line and his calendar ran a day ahead: he never actually missed the ship in New York.