How do I evict the tenant of my parking space if they do not pay or will not leave?

Question

José Manuel Alburquerque · Accepted Answer

Through the courts, with a possession claim. Never by yourself, because changing the locks or the remote control, blocking the space or removing the vehicle may be a criminal offence. Before suing, the law requires an attempt at negotiation. If the tenant does not pay, you should also demand payment by “burofax”, a certified letter with proof of content, at least thirty days before the claim, so that the tenant cannot stop the eviction by paying at the last minute. If the issue is that the contract is coming to an end, give the tenant written notice before it ends that it will not be renewed. Before suing If the tenant does not pay, send a burofax demanding payment of what is owed and warning that, if the tenant does not pay, you will sue. If at least thirty days pass between that burofax and the claim without payment, the tenant will no longer be able to stop the eviction by paying at the last minute. In the same burofax, make a genuine offer to negotiate, with specific proposals, such as a payment schedule or a date for vacating the space. If the tenant does not reply within thirty days of receiving it, you can then sue. The “Audiencia Provincial” of Barcelona, the provincial appeal court, does not accept a mere demand for payment as an attempt at negotiation. If the contract is coming to an end, notify the tenant in writing before it ends that it will not be renewed and that the space must be vacated. At the same time, offer to discuss the date of departure, which may serve as an attempt at negotiation. If the tenant goes on using the space for fifteen more days without that notice and without you objecting, the contract is renewed. If the tenant goes on paying after the end, do not simply accept the money as rent. Tell the tenant in writing that you are receiving it as compensation for the occupation, so that the contract is not deemed renewed. If someone uses the space without a contract and without paying, because you allowed it, withdraw your permission in writing. If that person does not leave, the claim is a possession claim against an occupier by permission (“desahucio por precario”). The possession claim In the same claim you can seek the rent owed and any rent falling due during the proceedings. A lawyer and a court agent (“procurador”) are needed, even if the debt is small. The court requires the tenant within ten days to vacate the space, pay or oppose the claim. If the tenant does nothing, the proceedings end and the eviction itself (the “lanzamiento”), the forced handover of the space, takes place on the date that had already been set. If you did not demand payment thirty days beforehand, the tenant can stop the eviction by paying everything owed within those ten days. This can only be done once. The protections provided for homes, such as the suspensions of evictions of vulnerable people, do not extend to a space rented on its own. If the space goes with a rented flat, on the other hand, it follows the flat. In Catalonia, unpaid rent can be claimed for three years from the date each payment falls due. If the tenant has already left and you only want to be paid, you can claim the debt through the “proceso monitorio”, a fast-track procedure for debt claims. You do not need a lawyer or a court agent to file it, although they may be needed if the tenant opposes the claim and the debt exceeds 2.000 euros. What you must not do Even if the tenant owes you months of rent or the contract has ended, do not change the locks or the remote control, do not block the space with another vehicle or a padlock and do not remove the tenant's car. This may be a criminal offence of coercion (“coacciones”) or of “realización arbitraria del propio derecho”, which means taking the law into your own hands. You must wait for the eviction.