Abusive clauses in room rentals: 600 euros to take your partner to sleep in

BarcelonaIn recent years, the supply of seasonal and room rentals has skyrocketed in cities like Barcelona. This model was the loophole that speculators found to circumvent the rent cap set by the state housing law. Since the price per room was not regulated, it was possible to charge almost the same amount for each one as was previously charged for an entire apartment. Paying more than 600 euros for a room is commonplace today in the Catalan capital. According to ARA, in some cases, tenants are charged extra fees. Some of these are of dubious legality, such as charging for bringing your partner to sleep over.

This is the case of Sofía Gallego. Since she came to study in Barcelona, ​​last August she signed a contract to rent a room in a building on Rocafort Street, in the heart of the Eixample district. It is one of those buildings that have proliferated in recent years in the Catalan capital where Most of the apartments have been renovated to convert them into rooms for rent.Currently, only two of the apartments are privately owned. The rest are managed by the company Rent Rooms Barcelona. Gallego shared an apartment with five other people and paid 590 euros a month, not including expenses. Last October, Gallego received a text message that left her stunned. Rent Rooms Barcelona was demanding she pay an extra 600 euros for having her partner sleep in her room for a few nights. The company argued that the visitation policy was stipulated in the contract, article eight of which states that each tenant can only have one guest at a time in their room and must notify the landlord in advance—by filling out a form with the visitor's information—and their roommates. The same article prohibits any one guest from spending more than two nights a month in the apartment. In case of non-compliance, it sets penalties of 100 euros per person per day.

After overcoming her initial disbelief at the bill demanded by Rent Rooms Barcelona, ​​Gallego brought her case to the attention of the Rental Companies Union. The young woman, advised by a union member, requested a meeting with the company in which she raised her doubts about the legality of the clause and stated that she would not pay the fine. She also raised another issue: whether the company had the right to use the security cameras to "spy" on those entering or leaving the apartment, or if only a third party could review them in the event of an incident in the building.

Rent Rooms Barcelona's reaction was to terminate her contract and tell her she had ten days to vacate the apartment. They ultimately granted her a one-month grace period. Furthermore, despite Gallego's explicit refusal to pay the penalty, which she considered illegal, the company ended up charging her a portion directly and withholding 250 euros from her deposit. When contacted by ARA, Rent Rooms declined to comment on the validity of this clause.

"It's not a hotel room"

But is this clause legal? When consulted by ARA, Jordi Bonshoms, a lecturer in law at Pompeu Fabra University (UPF), maintains that it flagrantly violates the right to privacy. "There is a violation of a fundamental right that prevails, and therefore, it would be an abusive practice on the part of the landlord," he argues. Enric Aragonès, spokesperson for the Tenants' Union, also defends the clause as illegal, since as long as no illegal activities are carried out, no one should interfere with who enters or leaves your room. "It's not a hotel room," he emphasizes. Aragonès believes this case is yet another example of the problem with room rentals, which is a "highly deregulated" concept and, consequently, "a source of widespread abuse." "Since it's a contract that's done almost informally, neither the price, nor the conditions, nor the deposit, nor the notice period for terminating the contract are regulated," he points out, and believes that all of this makes this type of rental "a source of total instability."

That's why, even though Parliament finally approved it a month ago the long-awaited law regulating seasonal and room rentals To prevent the price cap from being circumvented, Aragonès believes there is still a long way to go. In this regard, he considers the proposed amendment to the Urban Leases Law (LAU) that the Union has taken to Congress, and which is scheduled for debate next month, to be crucial. This amendment currently depends on the votes of Junts per Catalunya and, according to Aragonès, "should ensure that room rental contracts have the same guarantees as those for entire homes." For his part, Bonshoms warns that without proper regulation, clauses like the one Gallego experienced could become a loophole for circumventing the price cap. That is, while the price charged to the tenant for the room may be formally limited, the landlord could then add a series of surcharges to the tenant using clauses of this kind. He cites as an example the fact that some landlords are now passing on the property tax (IBI) to their tenants, or making them pay fees by misrepresenting them as another, unregulated expense.