Does the maximum rent apply to all landlords or only to large-scale landlords (“grandes tenedores”)?

Question

José Manuel Alburquerque · Accepted Answer

In a stressed residential market area (“zona tensionada”) all landlords must comply with it, not just large-scale landlords. Any landlord who re-lets a flat that was let in the previous five years is bound by the last rent that was paid. In Catalonia, if the flat was not let during that time, any landlord is bound by the reference rent index of the “Ministerio de Vivienda”, Spain's Ministry of Housing. The index always applies to a large-scale landlord. In Catalonia, for these purposes, a large-scale landlord is anyone who owns five or more residential properties in the area. In a stressed residential market area, who must do what A private landlord who re-lets a flat that was let as a home in the previous five years cannot exceed the last rent, with the annual update provided for in that agreement, except for an extra 10 % in certain specific cases laid down by law. A private landlord who lets a flat that has not had a residential tenancy in those five years, for example because it was empty or the landlord was using it, cannot exceed the index. In Catalonia this is so because the declarations of stressed residential market areas expressly provide for it. A large-scale landlord cannot exceed the index under any circumstances, not even by charging separately for expenses, services, taxes or charges. If the flat had a previous tenancy, the prudent course is to comply with the lower of the two limits. Bear in mind that the Catalan threshold is low. A private individual with five flats in the stressed residential market area, for example in Barcelona, is already a large-scale landlord for these purposes. Outside a stressed residential market area Outside stressed residential market areas nobody is subject to a maximum initial rent, not even large-scale landlords, except in officially protected housing (“viviendas con protección oficial”), which has its own. There are also two limits that apply throughout Spain to any landlord: When letting by rooms, the total of the rents cannot exceed the rent for the whole flat. If several temporary tenancies are signed one after another for the same flat, the rent under each one cannot rise by more than the IRAV, the index published by the “INE”, Spain's national statistics institute, that caps annual rent updates. During the tenancy Once the agreement has been signed, the limits on the annual increase also apply to everyone, however many flats the landlord owns. The increase cannot exceed the IRAV and, until 31 December 2027, 2 % unless otherwise agreed. If the rent is above the maximum given by the reference rent index, it cannot be increased at all until that date.