Three out of four real estate agencies in the city of Madrid fail to comply with the prohibition of the Housing Law to charge tenants management fees or expenses, according to a study prepared by the Facua consumer association. The organization has detected that 41% of the agencies analyzed continue to inform people who are looking for a flat that, in case they sign the lease, they will be charged an amount in concepts such as “fees”, “management expenses ” or “commission”.
For the preparation of the study, Facua has carried out a sample that includes 114 agencies from 11 provincial capitals and is finalizing the expansion of complaints against those who violate the regulations. At the end of May, the new Law for the Right to Housing entered into force, which introduced a modification in article 20 of the Urban Leasing Law of 1994, which now includes that “the expenses of real estate management and those of formalization of the contract will be by the landlord.”
Specifically, the tracking has been carried out in Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia, Seville, Palma de Mallorca, Bilbao, Santiago de Compostela Toledo, Salamanca, Valladolid and Zaragoza. Thus, the study shows that Madrid and Palma de Mallorca are the cities with the highest degree of non-compliance by real estate companies: in the capital, three out of four agencies ignore the regulations and intend to continue charging said expenses to users looking for rental housing, while in the Balearic city five of the six companies analyzed ask tenants for some type of fee or commission .
The consumer association reminds users that they are forced to pay this concept so as not to lose the opportunity to rent the apartment, that they request an independent invoice for the concept paid, or that they make the payment by transfer indicating the concept, and, later, a Once the rental contract is signed and you are already living in the apartment, you can go to the real estate agency to request a refund of said amount.