The real estate market continues to be challenging, causing distress for both homeowners and tenants alike. Issues such as the lack of residential housing, added to the increase in the number of holiday homes, inflation that has caused unaffordable rental prices, and finally the lack of legal certainty for landlords in fear of being able to leave their own home in their hands of an insolvent person.
The new housing law is making it even more difficult for landlords, and this predicament is illustrated by a case that has hit the local press this week, of a property owner in Las Chafiras, in the south of Tenerife, called Luis Javier.
He rented his property to a woman before the pandemic, who has failed to pay the monthly rent of 430 euros including bills, for over three years, accumulating a total debt of nearly 16,000 euros, unable to evict her.
Faced with this dire situation, Luis took legal action and the court ruled in his favour, granting him the right to proceed with the eviction of his non-paying tenant. However, in a surprising turn of events, the tenant, facing the risk of homelessness, sought refuge at San Miguel Town Hall, claiming she was pregnant, putting a halt to the eviction process.
The legal battle has taken a toll on Luis, and has so far cost him an additional 6,000 euros in legal fees. Unfortunately, the proceedings have not yet provided a resolution to his predicament, and amidst his personal expenses and the burden of the tenant's non-payment, he risks losing his home unless a solution is found soon.
In a statement to COPE radio, he shared the challenging circumstances he is grappling with and expressed the urgency of resolving the situation before the risk of homelessness becomes a reality for him.
When there are crazy situations like this, is it any wonder that landlords are demanding so much paperwork before renting properties on a long-term basis, or deciding to rent them out for holiday lets via online booking platforms.
