How to Evict a Tenant who is not Paying the Rent

[Janice]

Why anyone would buy a property in Spain is beyond me. We bought our house in 2003 and have no end of problems with non-paying tenants, we have not had to evict, but I fear we are at this point now. The law should be changed to protect the innocent. We have bend over backwards to help our tenants, maintained and decorated, negotiated, waited, but still no respect from these non-paying low-lives. We moved to Spain, hence the house, but when we run out of money we returned to the UK to get jobs!!!!!! Problem solved a? The tenant excuses are typically pathelic, I could write a book on it. Sorry no sympathy from any tenants on the posts above - have not read them all - but I find it quite boring..... usually delay tactics - goes downhill every time! If you are a tenant reading this and think "hey that is not fair" then don't follow the sheep - be DIFFERENT - think to yourself my rent is important. We are in a financially delicate situation, this lady could ruin us. I won't let her. Too Strong. My advice to everyone is steer clear of spain and if you do buy a property, be rich enough not to have to rent it out. If not, then don't buy! My next goal is to pay off half the mortgage even if I have to work 55 hours a week with two jobs to pay the mortgage and to start putting away funds for a mortgage pay back in an account I can't touch, because if I could, I would, we are already in debt. My house in Spain is causing me severe anxiety and is affecting my quality of life ( 8 years of renting out) and I want to change this situation how ever hard I work.

So my advice, to EVERYONE - folks tread carefully, tenants meet in the local bars and discuss the laws and know their rights - it is not good.

Rent out only, if needed, desparately, and if you do rent out, talk to a solicitor about all of the above posts - have every scenario covered. Protect yourself to avoid this delayed eviction process. I don't want anyone to go through what we have been through, or will be going through....Good luck guys!

[george_p]

Hello i need help ASAP, i am renting a flat in barcelona, i made last july a short 3 months contract (between me and the landlord, no agancys involved) and i paid in advance these 3 months plus a deposit, after that i agreed with the landlord to stay more and each month i was paying the rent (without taking any official receipt just some times on a piece of paper with a signature).
All this time i was always on time and never cause any problems.
This month because of a delay i had from my job i havent pay the rent yet (8 days delay) and i got an email from her that i have to leave the flat tomorrow!Does she has the right to move me out?I am asking because i dont know about the contract i have it was only for three months and i never typically renewed it.
I appriciate your help, thanks a lot!

[vickmaid]

My parents have a property in spain which they let out via a rent to buy agreement which was supposed to be completed on 1st May. The tennants left the propery in February, having left unpaid rent and bills and have said they now do not wish to exercise their right to buy the property. They are blaming this on some damp in the basement which they have given us no opportunity to fix (if indeed there is a problem) and are now saying they wish to claim their 20,000€ deposit back - do they have a case and will this be a costly process? Your help would be greatly appreciated.

[Patricia]

Dear Sir/Madam,

According to the information that you have given in your post, we understand that the tenants do not have the right to request the full deposit back as they have unpaid rental bills and subsequently part of the deposit will cover the unpaid rental fees and pending utility bills. In reference to the damp issues they are claiming and using as reason to vacate the property, the procedure should have followed these steps: They notify you of the existing problem so you can take appropriate action ( you express that this has not happened ), then you send out a surveyor or expert technician to evaluate the problem and confirm its existence, and then consider the reasons that have caused the damage and agree who will be held responsible for the repairs according to the contract, and then finally carry out the repair. If the tenants have failed, as you say, to inform you of the aforementioned problem, there is nothing they can claim in this regard.

If you wish you can send us a scanned copy of the contract by e-mail (contact details on http://www.lawbird.com/about/) so we can give a more specific answer.

Regards,

[henry]

hi i was born in spain and lived in uk sinse i was 2.. cant speak spanish with spanish with a passport..i inherited a flat in madrid in1998 since then i have been spending about 4 short breaks a year up until 2 years ago when community tax went up and the repairs to the outside building went up , so i decided to let a friend live there to pay the 300 euros a month to cover the costs now this is paid and the works done i want to sell up.now and gut the flat to decorate which is all dirty now my so called friend say he not going and he not paying the future community either he say i not welcome in flat he said he call the police if i go there its a 2 bedroom and one room is mine with my things there for when i stay at flat .. there was no tenanancy agreement he paid cash which i paid communnity charges he is using my water not paying nothing towards nothing now he seems he can live there 4 nothing until the goverment evict him .. can i move in my home i have the keys if he dnt like it he,,ll have to go or will the police tell me to go please help

[Samantha Uwing]

Hello
I am a tenant and my owner has told me that he is going to put the property on the market. I received a phone call from an agent saying they wanted to come in and do a viewing. I said No because I was going to be out and they said not to worry they had keys! I said that I didnt want them to go in and that they were not allowed to do so by law and if they did I would report them. I have now received an email from the owner saying I had no right to not let them in and that I was preventing him from selling etc etc, basically not a nice email! My contract does not expire for another 7 months and to be honest I dont want a constant stream of "viewers" Can I refuse to let them in, even if I am there and can I change the locks as I am worried they may try to come in when I am not there. I am also concerned that other people may have keys but if I change them am I obliged to give a copy to the owner? Again I am worried that if I did he would only send it to the other agent again. Thank you from a concerned tenant.

[Patricia]

Hello Samantha,

Welcome to the belegal forum.

You can actually change the locks and you are not in the obligation to give it to the owner. The owner does not have the rigth to access the property while the rental agreement is in force. Standard rental agreements establish that the owner can access the property sometimes in order to check how is the property and if it is being well looked after, but only if the tenant has been notified of this visit beforehand. It is very unusual that a rental agreement indicates the tenant must let the owner get in the property in order to show it to prospective buyers.

Regards,

[Andrew]

Hi - we have recently rented a property on a 1 year contract. Although the property is nice and has also been improved by us - being completely repainted it is turning into a bit of a nightmare. We have a crazy old lady in the rear of the property who complains if we use the kitchen light - we have a new born baby so do need to make milk at all hours of day and night. The verbal abuse is fairly constant and distasteful - the other neighbours have said to ignore it but it is concerning. The baby will cry more as it grows and she will no doubt become more abusive with that sound. Additionally neighbours next door have started having flamenco parties - they seem less that willing to stop these and my feeling is that they and their guests are actually dangerous, the police are less than responsive to help. It is time to cut our losses and risks and just move on - what is the best option to break a 1 year contract 3 months in. I am very tempted to just say we can't afford to pay the future rent however of course all current rent would be paid so the landlord would not be out of pocket. I am a little annoyed the landlord did not mention the crazy lady at the rear - it seems the other people in this block know about her very well and no doubt that is one reason this property was available.

[Stuart Griffiths]

I paid a deposit and one months rent. but the agency never gave me a contract and a refusing to fix appliances in the aprtment, due to this i am a month behind rent and said im not going to pay until i have a contract and things are fixed. They said they will send someone round to get me out where do i stand??
Many thanks

[NickC]

Hi belegal team. We're a small property management and lettings agency on the Costa Blanca. One of our tenants, now on the second 11 month rolling contract in a furnished 3 bed, is two months behind with the rent and is refusing to pay utilities (which they agreed to do as part of the tenancy agreement). I have noted your comments about the 'futility' of pursuing tenants for debt recovery. However, my question is this, which follows on to your reply to Samantha above. The tenancy agreement expires at the end of this month. Can the owner (or ourselves as letting agents) have legal access to the property once the agreement has expired and remove any of their effects or do the tenants have any legal right to remain in the property. I am taking a conciliatory approach to resolving this amicably with the tenant, although they no longer answer my calls, do not reply to my texts or letters delivered to the property. Any advice and guidance would be greatly appreciated. Many thanks. Nick