The tenant does not have to pay agency fees when signing a rental contract anymore.
The new Housing Law in Spain for affordable housing access states that landlords of rental properties will be responsible for paying the agency fees instead of the tenants.
Signing a rental contract is not an easy task, especially when it comes to finding a place to live in major cities like Madrid, Barcelona, Palma de Mallorca, Seville, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Valencia, Santa Cruz de Tenerife, or Bilbao. The tenant not only has to cover the current month’s rent but also the security deposit, which, if lucky, is only one month’s worth, in addition to the well-known agency fees found on property sale and rental portals. However, this is about to change.
With the enforcement of the new Housing Law (Ley de Vivienda), which has been approved on the 19th of May 2023 by Congress, aiming to provide affordable housing access, tenants will no longer have to pay agency fees when the landlord has contracted the services of the agency. This additional payment will be now paid by landlords.
Landlords will now pay the agency fees
This significant change, important to consider for the eleven and a half million tenants in Spain, means that from now on, landlords of rental properties will be responsible for paying the agency fees. To be more precise, the text of the regulation states that “real estate management expenses and contract formalization costs will always be borne by the landlord,” regardless of whether they are individuals or legal entities.
How will rent increases be calculated from 2023?
One of the most significant changes resulting from the new Housing Law relates to the cap on rental prices. According to the agreement, the limit of a 2% increase in rent will be maintained for this year, and it will be raised to 3% in 2024 to create a new reference index applicable nationwide before December 31st of the following year. Furthermore, it should be noted that among the rights of tenants, the landlord cannot demand more than an additional two months’ security deposit, and the maximum amount that can be paid in advance is one month’s rent, typically paid as a reservation for the apartment.