The Ministry of Consumer Affairs opens a file against a real estate portal for unfair practices

BarcelonaThe Ministry of Social Rights, Consumer Affairs and Agenda 2030 has opened disciplinary proceedings against a real estate portal operating throughout the State, without disclosing which one it is, for "possible unfair commercial practices against consumers and users". According to a note from this Wednesday, the General Directorate of Consumer Affairs initiated this investigation after receiving a complaint from the Federation of Consumers and Users CECU.

Unfair commercial practices against consumers constitute an administrative infringement in accordance with Article 47.1 of the consolidated text of the General Law for the Defense of Consumers and Users, which can be sanctioned as a serious infringement, with fines of up to 100,000 euros or between 4 and 6 times the illicit profit obtained. It is the first time that Consumer Affairs has opened such a file for an infringement in which it points directly to the platform, since other times it was done for the information that the owners of the houses had in their advertisements, the note recalls.

New decree

In addition, the Consumer Affairs department will monitor that large real estate portals comply with the first royal decree-law on housing approved this Tuesday at the council of ministers. The ministry will send a circular in the coming hours to large real estate platforms to inform them of the new obligations regarding the advertising of rental apartments that the royal decree-law incorporates, according to the note.

Consumer Affairs indicates that it will remain vigilant so that digital platforms incorporate the new regulations, which allow tenants to have more extensive information when showing interest in a home as quickly as possible. Article 20 of this royal decree-law establishes that the offer or advertisement they publish must include, at least, the reference index for the rental price of the home and, where applicable, the rent of the last habitual housing lease contract in force in the previous five years.

This will be mandatory for housing advertisements in any city in the country, regardless of whether the property is located in an area declared as stressed. Thus, potential tenants will be able to know what the reference price is for the housing administrations they want to rent, or the rent of the last contract.

With this information, it will be possible to compare the price requested by the owner with the price considered appropriate, and whether increases are being made with respect to the last tenants. The applicable rent limit in areas subject to legal limitation, such as stressed areas, must also be published, as well as the landlord's status as a large property holder.