The odyssey of renting on the coast: "There are no long-term flats and when there are, they are expensive"

• Report The price of housing continues to skyrocket in Andalusia, with increases of more than 7%

The lack of affordable housing in the most touristic enclaves of Andalusia and especially in the coastal areas, remains a problem and the Housing Law approved by the Government last May, far from improving the situation, seems to have contributed to worsening it. Thus, faced with the increase in demand for properties to rent as a habitual residence, the rental stock is reduced every day more and as a consequence, prices are increasingly higher. Today, finding a conventional rental on the Andalusian coast is an odyssey because "there are no long-term flats and when there are, they are expensive," says the Cordovan student of Fashion Design in Malaga, Jennifer Sánchez.

The situation is not only affecting the pockets of young people seeking emancipation or those who need to change residence and do not want or simply cannot buy, it is also having a very negative impact on the recruitment and retention of talent and the protection of local life, denounce from the Association of Hoteliers of the Costa del Sol (AEHCOS), although this is a recurring theme in any economic forum in which the issue is addressed.

Many of the profiles required by the hotel industry, which in recent times is having such a hard time filling vacancies, do not have access to housing in the tourist municipalities where more activity is generated. "It is essential to enable land dedicated to affordable housing" and also to have "comfortable housing", said the president of AEHCOS, José Luque, at a meeting of professionals and managers of the sector, organized by the Swiss hotel school Les Roches in Marbella, because "without workers with quality of life, hotels cannot provide a 5-star service".

At this point, although in another context, the president of the Association of Builders and Promoters of Malaga (ACP), José Manuel Rosillo, explains to EL MUNDO that faced with the opportunities of rising regions such as the Costa del Sol or Malaga itself, the lack of housing for those who have to provide the services or carry out the work generated by the construction itself or real estate activity derived from it is a challenge to be solved sooner rather than later. Accommodation has become a "bargaining chip" when hiring staff, whether national or foreign, explains Rosillo, for whom it is not that salaries are low, but that there are not enough rental homes to meet the current demand and in the face of shortages, prices rise.

This is influenced by issues as different but as related as the lack of finalist land to build or the insecurity felt by the owner when renting, says the president of ACP, but what can not be done is "to hold private companies responsible for the lack of an adequate housing policy."

35 meters, 700 euros per month

In municipalities such as Marbella, the rent of a studio of just 35 square meters does not fall today from 700 euros per month and rises to 950 euros if you are looking for a flat with two rooms in a building that has an elevator, as published on October 10 by the real estate portal Idealista. In Malaga, 550 euros per month would be paid for a 29-square-meter loft-type apartment – which is the study of a lifetime – and no less than 700 euros for a two-bedroom house.

In Cádiz the monthly price of a studio of 50 square meters would be 650 euros and yes, it would be possible to rent a two-bedroom house below 600 euros per month but only on the condition that it is left free during the summer months. In this Andalusian capital it is practically impossible to rent something at a price that can be considered affordable for a period of more than ten months.

Grenade

A very similar situation exists in Motril, one of the most popular sun and beach holiday destinations in the province of Granada. From mid-September to mid-June the price of a two-bedroom apartment is around 425 euros but can perfectly exceed 1,800 euros per month in the middle of the summer season. Also in Almeria this circumstance occurs. Properties can be leased at around 400 euros per month during the school season, from September to June, but prices double and even triple in July and August.

Getting a conventional or long-term rental is very complicated for those who have pets, but especially for those who have children, not only because they need more space and therefore the rents are more expensive, but because landlords are aware that it is much more difficult to evict a tenant who does not pay if there are minors involved.

To the question: how is this possible? The answer for most landlords is simple: long-term rental has more risk of default, gives more headaches and is less profitable, stresses entrepreneur and real estate expert Kristina Szekely.

Fear of renting

Most of the Andalusian real estate stock is in the hands of small holders, recalls the president of the ACP, and there is a lack of measures that encourage them to put their homes on the market. Actions that, in Rosillo's opinion, go through giving greater legal security to the owner or expediting vacancies. Here, without a doubt, the public administration has a lot to say because "there is a lot of standing still land that could be allocated to affordable housing through the development of public-private collaboration projects" and many measures that could be adopted to protect those who can put their second homes for rent, he stresses.

Landlords are afraid because they feel legally helpless in the face of a housing law that thinks more about the rights of the tenant than those of the landlord, that puts limits on the price of rent, the annual update of leases or the guarantees that can be required of a tenant to guarantee compliance with their obligations regarding the payment of rent, adds Szekely.

The new law, can be read in the summary of the same that appears published on the website of La Moncloa, "seeks to help those groups with more difficulties of access to this good" and "strengthen the balance in the relations between landlord and tenant" but the reality is that it forgets the rights of the owner, On whose back he carries much of the weight of the problem of the lack of affordable housing suffered by the country and who sees with fear how he may de facto lose control of his home in the face of tenants who do not pay, contracts that are extended and evictions that are eternalized while "housing solutions" are sought for the inhabitants who are estimated to be in a situation of vulnerability.

Some choose to withdraw their properties from the market, others for tourist rentals and those who risk long-term rentals try to secure the best they can payments, says Szekely. This means that in many cases the tenant is asked not only to prove their economic solvency by providing an employment contract and payroll, but also to have a seniority of six months at work, pay non-payment insurance, specify a bank guarantee and even pay the entire stay in advance.

• Malaga
• Marbella, Spain
• Cadiz
• Almeria
• Housing Law
• Housing
• Rent
• Tourism
• Grenade