Government measures in key jurisdictions 4th edition - Flipbook - Page 126
Spain
Property
Have any changes
been made to
the laws around
property, rent and
enforcement?
•
Likewise, if the performance of a contract is significantly affected due to
unforeseen circumstances, it should be considered that there is a legal doctrine on
hardship created by case law, that allows obligations and contracts to be reviewed when
the economic balance of the contract has been upset and the contract has become impossible or
very difficult to perform for one of the parties due to those unforeseen circumstances. However,
it should be noted that the Spanish courts have hitherto applied hardship principles very
cautiously and the specific characteristics of each case must be thoroughly looked at to
determine whether it is applicable.
•
For more information, please visit: Companies facing the Covid-19 crisis and Force majeure and
the grounds for suspension of contracts due to Covid-19 cannot be regarded as justifying
dismissal
•
RDL 8/2020 incorporates a moratorium in favour of mortgage debtors who are in a
particularly vulnerable situation (i.e. the mortgagor becomes unemployed or, in the case of a
businessman, suffers a substantial loss of income or a substantial drop in sales, that is, at least
40%).
•
If the landlord is an entity or a public housing company (entidad ‘pública de vivienda’) or a large
individual holder (i.e. an individual owning more than 10 properties or owning a built facility bigger
than 1,500 sq.m), the tenant may request temporary and extraordinary deferment of the rent of
his/her principal residence within one month from the enter into force of Royal Decree-law
11/2020, March 31, provided that said deferment or the total or partial remission of the rent has
not already been achieved voluntarily by agreement between both parties. In the event that the
agreement had not taken place, the landlord may choose between the following alternatives:
– a 50% reduction over the rent while the state of emergency is in force, or
–a moratorium on the payment of the rent that will be applicable during the term of the state of
emergency (and which may be extended monthly if that term is insufficient in relation to the
situation of vulnerability caused by the Covid-19), and which may not, in any case, exceed four
months.
•
In line with the above, Royal Decree-Law 15/2020 has extended, in one additional month starting
from April 23 2020, the term granted to the tenant to request a moratorium on the rent payment.
However, in this case, the moratorium will be automatically binding to the landlord, and the same
conditions as indicated above will apply.
•
Likewise, measures related to the suspension of the eviction procedures as well as
the removals of judicial releases for vulnerable households without alternative housing have been i
ntroduced.
•
In addition, RD 25/2020 introduces a special legal regime for moratorium agreements offered by
lenders to self-employed individuals and legal entities. This special regime aims the protection of the
financing related to properties used for tourism purposes and which have not been able to benefit
from the above-mentioned moratoriums measures.
Government measures in key jurisdictions
126