Coronavirus Crisis: How will it affect rents in Spain?

The 2020 crisis is already a reality. In just fifteen days both the global economy and the stock market have recorded some of the most critical figures in history, surpassing the crash of 1929, 1987 and most likely 2009.

The productive halt has meant that Spain has already entered what we know as a recession. Today, more and more people are wondering how to pay rent in the midst of the Coronavirus crisis.

What will be the impacts on the Spanish real estate sector? Will there be an aid to pay the rent during the coronavirus crisis?

ShBarcelona shares with you in this article the measures taken in this regard by the Spanish Government. Take note because they are important!

Help to pay rents

On March 31, 2020 the Council of Ministers approved a range of extraordinary measures to clarify what will happen to those tenants who, affected by the economic consequences of coronavirus, cannot pay their rent.

• Suspension of evictions: once the state of emergency has ended, and for the next six months, it is suspended for all those people who are in a vulnerable situation and are pending eviction.
• Microcredits: banks will offer tenants microcredits without interest or commissions guaranteed by the state. Who is eligible? People who have lost their jobs, who are under an ERTE, who have had to reduce their working hours and self-employed who cannot make their payments. These microcredits may be repaid in six years and may be extended by another four years.
• Extraordinary extension: leases that expire during the next two months after the entry into force of this rule are extended to six months.
• Moratorium on payment: when the owner of the housing, physical or legal person, has an investment fund, the tenant may request a moratorium on payment of rent as long as the state of emergency is in effect. On the other hand, tenants may also apply for specific public aid.

What will happen to the rents after Coronavirus?

The government hopes that, once this situation is over, the economic activity will normalize. In this sense, it is likely to see a huge explosion of consumption that will put back rents and demand on the table.

What will happen to prices? In recent years we have experienced a steady growth in the rental prices. We were in a situation where buying an apartment in Barcelona or any other city was proving more profitable because, it was more economical to have a mortgage than having to pay a rent.

Apartments for sale in Barcelona

The future is uncertain; thus, we need to keep an eye on the market to see how the situation evolves.

What do you think of the measures put in place by the government?