Landlord, careful with tenant’s subletting on your property!

Raymundo Larraín Nesbitt, May, 21. 2018

Admonitory blog post on the abusive misuse of long-term rentals.

Blog post copyrighted © 2018. Plagiarism will be criminally prosecuted.

By Raymundo Larraín Nesbitt
Director of Larraín Nesbitt Lawyers
21st of May 2018

 

 

 

                                                                                                                                                Sly tenant gleeing on all the money he's going to cream off you.

 

Now that the good weather has made a comeback, the rental season in Spain kicks off. Many landlords will be busy these days signing lease agreements on their Spanish properties. Unless you have been living under a rock for the last two years, the holiday rental business in Spain is booming (two-digits growth p.a.).

I though it would be a good idea to write a short blog post on the serious risks of renting out your property long-term and have your tenant subletting it as short-term unbeknownst to you.

Many unsuspecting landlords are falling prey to sneaky tenants who are subletting the property as short-term accommodation making a killing. It is estimated that on average a tenant can make 60% over and above a long-term rental. So obviously there is quite the incentive to flaunt the rules and do it, as it is win-win for them. They cream off the rental money and have zero risk on doing it, as any penalty is footed by the landlord as I explain next.

Who is ultimately responsible for this misbehaviour?

As I cared to explain in a previous blog post (How (not) to bypass regional Holiday Home Laws in Spain) the responsibility falls squarely on the property owner. Some cheeky landlords are renting out their luxury pads in prime beach locations as ‘fake’ long-term rentals to foreign companies in the full knowledge that these are busy marketing and subletting the property offering it as holiday rental accommodation without having attained the mandatory Tourist licence. What these landlords do not know however, is that if they get caught this may attract humongous fines which the property owner will be liable for, not the exploiting company, who is too busy counting the banknotes that roll in. For them, it’s a win-win.

Yet in most cases, landlords are oblivious to this foul practice and are blissfully unaware of what their enterprising tenant has been up to with their property. If the tourist Authorities catch wind of your tenant’s holiday rental business, any fines levied will go against your property, and you, as the owner, will be liable for them. Ignorance will not be accepted as an excuse.

The taxman knows

The Spanish Tax Office has reached an agreement with different property portals (i.e. AirBnb) to be supplied with the full details of tenants, check-in dates, agreed lease price etc in an attempt to combat tax evasion. Any non-resident landlord who hasn’t declared and paid tax on their rental income to the Spanish taxman is going to receive a nasty letter later on this year. You should be smart and pre-empt this scenario unfolding on regularizing your undeclared rental income.

Three telltale signs your ‘long-term’ tenant is stitching you up

  • You keep receiving complaints from your Community of Owners over the ‘abusive’ use of your property i.e. excessive noise, loud music.
  • The person/s who open your property door are strangers and are not those mentioned in your long-term lease agreement.
  • Too many different people shuffle in and out of your property at all times of day and night.

 

What can you do if you suspect your tenant is cheating on you?

  • Query the property’s concierge for any suspicious activity relating to your property.
  • Try searching for your property in popular mainstream property portals such as HomeAway, AirBnb etc
  • Hire a private detective to monitor (illegal) property use.

 

How can our law firm support you?

Lawyers can word into long-term contracts clauses that forbid this illegal use of property. In addition, they can assist you on removing the obnoxious tenant who is making a profit on your property at your own expense (tenant eviction service).

 

Our law firm offers a bespoke tax service, for a very competitive fee, which is tailored for holiday rentals (Holiday Rentals Accounting Service). We can reduce your landlord tax bill by a minimum of 40% - or your money back! We will save you more money than what you spend on hiring us. It pays off to be legal.

 

Larraín Nesbitt Lawyers, small on fees, big on service.

Larraín Nesbitt Lawyers is a law firm specialized in taxation, conveyancing, inheritance, and litigation. We will be very pleased to discuss your matter with you. You can contact us by e-mail at info@larrainnesbitt.com, by telephone on (+34) 952 19 22 88 or by completing our contact form.

 

Tax services Larraín Nesbitt Lawyers can offer you

 

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Please note the information provided in this blog post is of general interest only and is not to be construed or intended as substitute for professional legal advice. This article may be posted freely in websites or other social media so long as the author is duly credited. Plagiarizing, whether in whole or in part, this article without crediting the author may result in criminal prosecution. VOV.

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