Measures Adopted in Rental Matters, Royal Decree Law 11/2020

The preamble expressly records that in Spain, 85% of housing leases are held by physical persons, or small owners. This peculiarity necessitates measures that facilitate agreements between parties to enable rent payments. The regulation has as its sole purpose the adoption of measures directed at protecting vulnerable groups who will be particularly affected in their capacity to afford rent. It also ensures a balance between the parties to prevent the vulnerability of tenants from being transferred to landlords, especially those for whom income generated by rental can be essential.

In summary:

• All evictions and repossessions due to rent without alternative housing for vulnerable people are suspended for six months, provided that the tenant can prove to the Court that they find themselves in a situation of social or economic vulnerability as a consequence of the effects of the spread of COVID-19.
• Extraordinary extension of rental contracts for habitual residence. For all rental contracts of habitual residences subject to the LAU (Urban Rental Law) due to expire – from the effective date of this Royal Decree Law – April 2, 2020 – until the day when two months have passed since the end of the state of alarm, an extension for a maximum period of 6 months is provided.
• Various measures are established to procure rent debt moratorium for tenants of habitual residence who are in a situation of economic vulnerability due to COVID-19.
• Tenants of a contract for habitual residence who are in a situation of economic vulnerability may request from the landlord, when this is a company or public housing entity or a large holder, within one month from the effective date of the royal decree-law, the temporary and extraordinary postponement in the payment of rent.
• In cases where the tenant of a habitual residence contract has a physical person, small owner, as a landlord, they may request their landlord within one month from the effective date of the Royal Decree Law, the temporary and extraordinary postponement in the payment of rent, provided that said postponement or total or partial waiver of it has not been previously agreed voluntarily between both parties. The landlord, upon receiving the request, will communicate to the tenant, within a maximum of 7 working days, the conditions of postponement or deferred installment of the debt that they accept, or failing that, the possible alternatives they propose in relation to them.
• To provide financial coverage in order to cover housing expenses for households in situations of social and economic vulnerability as a result of the spread of COVID-19, it is anticipated that through an agreement with the Official Credit Institute, for a period of up to fourteen years, a line of guarantees will be developed with full coverage of the State, so that banking entities can offer temporary financial aid to people who are in the aforementioned situation of vulnerability, with a repayment term of up to six years. The aid should be dedicated to the payment of the rent of the housing lease and can cover a maximum amount of six monthly rents, and all tenants who find themselves in a situation of sudden vulnerability as a consequence of the spread of COVID-19 can access it.
• A new rental aid program will be incorporated into the State Housing Plan 2018-2021, whose objective will be the granting of rental aid, through direct award, to tenants of habitual residence who, as a consequence of the economic and social impact of COVID-19, have temporary problems to attend to the partial or total payment of the rent and fit into the cases of sudden economic and social vulnerability that are defined and that will include, in any case, the situations defined in the Royal Decree-Law.