Eviction for non-payment in the current situation (COVID-19 and State of Alarm)
Eviction for non-payment in the current situation (COVID-19 and State of Alarm)
Introduction
The current State of Alarm was declared by Royal Decree 926/2020, of October 25, declaring the state of alarm to contain the spread of infections caused by SARS-CoV-2, extended by Royal Decree 956/2020, of November 3, until 00:00 on May 9, 2021.
As of today, due to the State of Alarm, and through Royal Decree-Law 11/2020, of March 31, by the that urgent complementary measures are adopted in the social and economic field to deal with COVID-19, modified by Royal Decree-Law 37/2020, of December 22, on urgent measures to deal with situations of social and economic vulnerability in In the field of housing and in terms of transportation, evictions of homes in vulnerable situations and without a housing alternative are not allowed while the State of Alarm lasts, even if the situation has not been directly caused by the pandemic.
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Requirements that tenants must meet to benefit from the suspension of eviction measure
- Existence of a housing lease contract subject to and signed in accordance with Law 29/1994, of November 24, on Urban Leases.
- Prove a situation of social or economic vulnerability that makes it impossible to find alternative housing (art. 5 of RDL 11/2020) through the documents referred to in art. 6 of RDL 11/2020.
- The Justice Administration Lawyer will communicate the accredited situation to the competent social services and the extraordinary suspension of the launching act will begin (if the day is not indicated, the term or holding of the hearing will be suspended until they are adopted the measures that the competent social services deem appropriate).
In article 5 of RD 11/2020 we find a definition of the situation of economic vulnerability that the tenant must prove in order to obtain moratoriums or aid in relation to the rental of habitual residence.
In its place, article 6 of RD 11/2020 establishes the necessary documents for the accreditation of the subjective conditions of the situation of social and economic vulnerability.
Right of landlords to seek compensation
The landlords will have the right to request compensation when the competent administration has not adopted the appropriate measures to address the duly accredited situation of vulnerability within the period of three months from the date on which the social services report indicating such measures is issued.
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The aforementioned compensation will consist of the average value that would correspond to a rental of housing in the environment in which the property is located, determined from the reference indices of the rental price housing or other objective references representative of the rental market, plus the current housing expenses that the landlord proves to have assumed, for the period between the suspension being agreed and the moment in which it is lifted by the Court or to end the state of alarm. However, if this value is higher than the rent that the landlord has been receiving, the compensation will consist of rent not received during the same period indicated above plus current expenses.
The request for said compensation may be submitted up to one month after the validity of the state of alarm declared by Royal Decree 926/2020, of October 25, which declares the state of alarm to contain the spread of infections caused by SARS-CoV-2, extended by Royal Decree 956/2020, of November 3.
Rent debt moratorium
Despite the above, the landlord may request a moratorium in those cases in which there is a lack of payment. For this, the lessor must be a company or a public housing entity or a large holder, understood as a natural or legal person who owns more than ten urban properties, excluding garages and storage rooms, or the owner of a constructed area of more than of 1,500m2.
The moratorium that the landlord may request will consist of the temporary and extraordinary postponement of the rent payment, except in those cases in which the landlord and the lessee have agreed to a cancellation, that is, the payment of the debt, or have agreed to defer all or part of the rent.
Requirements for the moratorium request:
- That it is a habitual residence lease.
- That there is a situation of accredited vulnerability on the part of the lessee.
- That the landlord is a public housing company or entity or a large owner of homes, that have not reached an agreement to forgive or defer payment of rent.
Procedure to present the moratorium:
- The application may be submitted until the end of the state of alarm declared by Royal Decree 926/2020, of October 25, which declares the state of alarm to contain the spread of infections caused by SARS-CoV -2, extended by Royal Decree 956/2020, of November 3.
- The cumulative duration of the moratoriums and suspensions legal or under sectoral agreements granted since September 30, 2020 may not exceed a total of nine months.
- Written to the landlord requesting the postponement.
- Within 7 working days, the landlord informs the tenant of his choice between the two possible alternatives.
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