If you have a rented out a property and your tenant stops paying the rent then you have a problem. What can you do in this case? It is one thing when the rental payment is delayed for a few days but quite another when the tenant stops paying for more than a month.
The Urban Leasing Law (LAU) mentions several reasons why the owner / landlord can request the termination of the lease contract and, therefore, the eviction.
Eviction is a special process through which the landlord asks the court to declare the termination of the contract due to non-payment of rent, and requests that the rented property be returned. In addition, in the same process, you can claim payment of the rent that is owed.
But before initiating the process of eviction, you must first write to or telephone the tenant to ask for payment of the overdue amounts and if the tenant does not respond, a formal written communication would have to be made by Buro fax, notifying the tenant that the debt must be paid within a term of thirty days and also communicating the intention to initiate legal actions in case of non-payment. If the tenant still does not pay, there is no choice but to go to court.
In no case should measures be taken such as changing a lock or cutting off supplies (electricity, water, etc.), as the tenant may legally report the landlord for coercion.
The landlord / landlord can legally claim several things:
1. The return of the property (resolution of the contract).
2. The return of the property together with the payment of the debts.
3. Claim exclusively the debt generated without claiming the return of the property, either because you do not want to terminate the contract, or because the tenant has already returned the keys and it is only necessary to claim the debt.
The most common measure taken is the request to terminate the contract and to claim the debts in the same process. Evictions are resolved in a verbal court hearing. If the tenant opposes the claim, a trial would be held and the process would end in a sentence. In other cases, the process will end with a Decree that finalises the eviction process, and which would include the presumed income until the return of ownership of the property occurs. After the Decree the launch must be executed, that is, if the tenant has not left until then, the process of the vacation of the property must be instigated so that the landlord can recover it. After this the sentence to recuperate the monies owed can be carried out by seizing assets from the tenant sentenced to pay the debts owed.
Therefore, it is important to have an expert lawyer to advise and manage your claim.
Marbella Solicitors Group has a team of specialised lawyers who can help and assist you with this and other topics.
José Manuel Garzón – Senior Partner Axarquía Solicitors
For further information, advice or assistance on process, please do not hesitate to contact us and make an appointment at any of our offices without commitment.
Tel. 952 901 225 – e-mail at mail@axarquiasolicitors.com or ring Melanie Elst on 685 589 802.
We will be pleased to study your particular case and explain in detail how this process works.
Axarquía Solicitors is part of Marbella Solicitors Group, a group of bilingual lawyers and tax experts that have more than 15 years experience assisting foreign buyers and vendors in Andalucía, both on the coast and inland.
