It is no secret that there are few homes for rent and that this has resulted in the worst scenarios: unassumable prices and an access crisis of epic dimensions. And, although in Spain there are more than three million empty homes, according to the INE, many do not serve to weave the market since they are in areas with little demand. To this is added, the companies of the sector affirm, that there are owners who have decided to close their homes for the insecurity climate created in recent times, that is, for fear that the tenant will stop paying, although there is no data from these. On the one hand, the owner stops receiving income via rent. Taking into account that the average price in Spain is at 1,083 euros per month, it stops entering 12,998 euros gross per year, Fotocasa calculates, although the expenses that all rented housing (taxes, community, insurance …) have to be subtracted. If it is a temporary rental, prices are between 15% and 20% above, so it stops receiving 2,500 euros plus gross per year. On the other hand, the owner must assume a series of expenses: maintenance, quota of the neighborhood community and the payment of the Real Estate Tax (IBI), among others. The calculation of how much it costs to have a unoccupied house is not the same for all owners, since it depends on the type of housing, its location and its services. According to the study conducted by the Arreta Correeduría, the cost of maintaining a house whose cadastral value is 100,000 euros oscillates in large cities between 3,100 and 5,060 euros per year. Only the payment of the neighbors community, the IBI, the basic household insurance and the supplies, even if they are minimal, results in 2,720 euros per year, according to the safe rental analysis. But, «taking into account that in many neighbors communities there are spills, the expense can be easily over 3,000 euros a year,» says the agency. In the expenses list are the quotas of the community of owners, which must be paid if you do not want to fall into default. «They will be conditioned by the services and facilities available to the community, the property coefficient, and possibly the antiquity and status of said facilities, which would make those fixed costs of the house more expensive through spill,» according to the College of Finces Administrators of Madrid. Calculate that in a building without elevator in the capital you would have to pay 60 euros per month. «In Madrid the average monthly fee is 105 euros, an amount similar to that of other large capitals such as Barcelona, Seville or Malaga,» they indicate in Arreta. Another game are supplies. If you want to keep the light service, a monthly fixed fee of between 20 and 50 euros will have to be paid. In addition, «maintaining water service is also important to avoid future plumbing problems. Its monthly fixed canon usually ranges between 10 and 30 euros, an amount similar to the one that will mean maintaining the gas service,» they estimate in the expert for rent. Household insurance is not mandatory in Spain, but recommended. «Even without being inhabited, damage can always be caused both inside the house and other neighbors. If it is not insured, these mishaps can mean a high invoice that the owner would have to face on their own,» they point out on a direct insurance line. This company makes an estimate: «For a floor of about 70 square meters in Madrid capital that is not inhabited, and depending on the continent and the insured content, the average premium of the policy would be between 155 and 175 euros.» There is another type of insurance for this type of houses, also volunteers, such as illegal occupation, with a cost of 10 euros per year if it is linked to the home policy. The owner may want to install an alarm to avoid theft. The monthly cost is between 30 and 40 euros. There is another important aspect and is maintenance. «An empty home deteriorates and this also implies an impact on its value,» says Ferran Font, spokesman and director of Studies of the Real Estate Portal floors.com. It refers to the deterioration of soils, windows, blinds and doors, to taps that drip, moisture or the appearance of some plague. Font provides numbers: the arrangement after the closure of the house for a couple of years can mean between 500 and 1,000 euros and between 2,500 and 3,000 euros if the period lengthens between three and five years. «The cost of these tasks will depend on the initial state of the house, but it can mean at least 2,000 euros if a house has been closed for several years. If it has been closed more than five years it is practically dedicated to at least one partial reform,» they indicate for safe rent. «If care has not been taken in 10 years, you can lose between 10% and 20% of its value,» font ames. In the tax chapter, the largest amount corresponds to the IBI, whose cost varies depending on the cadastral value of the house and the tax rate that each municipality applies. There is no concrete amount, although it is normal to pay between 400 and 1,100 euros per 100,000 euros of cadastral value, they calculate in Arret.
IBI surcharges
In addition, the Housing Law of 2023, which modified the regulatory law of local haciendas in regard to IBI, established the possibility that the municipalities can demand surcharges to the owners of unoccupied houses for no reason, with the aim of promoting them to take them out to the rental market. «The surcharges are 50% for those who have empty two years or more and their owner have four or more houses; surcharge of up to 100% when the unemployment period is exceeding three years and 150% if they have two of the properties uninhabited in the same municipality,» says Carlos Cruzado, president of the Treasury technicians (Gestha). Also, Cruzado remembers, the Generalitat Valenciana and Catalonia have their own taxes for natural persons who are great holders. Regarding the imputation in the IRPF, it is 1.1% of the cadastral value. If it is not reviewed it is 2%. If applicable, the assets tax must also be paid, which taxes the value of the assets of natural persons from 700,000 euros. More taxes, such as the garbage rate. Madrid farming administrators have selected a 50 square meters floor on Reyes Street, near Plaza de España. Its owner pays 400 euros a year of the IBI and 80 euros for the garbage. If works have been done, ICIO must be taken (constructions tax, facilities and works) and possible special contributions (if the City Council does an important work in the neighborhood …), Cruzado says.
