Consumption opens a file to another real estate for imposing services and charging the tenants illegal commissions

The Ministry of Social Rights, Consumption and Agenda 2030 has opened a sanctioning file to a real estate company for the alleged collection of illegal commissions to the tenants or for forcing them to hire unre requested services. This action is part of the investigation that the department directed by Pablo Bustinduy began in October and has put other agencies under the magnifying glass. In fact, consumption initiated in March a first file for the same reason for safe rent.

The agency to which consumption opens a file now operates throughout the national territory and may present allegations before the evidence collected in the course of the investigation, which indicate “possible abusive practices against tenants and tenants in the rental management, such as the collection of illegal commissions and force to hire unre requested services”.

Specifically, according to the complaints before the General Directorate of Consumer Affairs of the Tenar Union, FACUA and OC and that would affect more companies, these practices would go through the imposition of a commission for the management of the lease, the hiring of non -payment insurance, which benefits the owner, or of non -requested services. The State Housing Law, approved in 2023, “expressly prohibits the tenants from realization and formalization expenses of the contract,” they recall from the Ministry.

“In this country the law will be fulfilled,” Bustnduy insisted on Tuesday. The minister has sent a “message to the companies that are incurring these types of practices, especially in housing, to investment funds, which are profiting at the expense of cutting off the right to housing of the Spanish and the Spanish, to real estate companies that are breaking their legal obligations, trying to squeeze the people who are looking for a house where to live, but also, because they are currently in these days. Business to Spanish democracy: who does not respect the law, will pay for it. ”

The practices that consumption investigate could lead to this real estate agency, of whom the regulations prevents publicly making public until the end of the procedure, provided that the sanction is confirmed, fines of up to 100,000 euros in case of serious infractions of the law of defense of consumers and of up to one million euros, in the case of being very serious. In both cases, the amount could be multiplied until reaching four and six times and eight, respectively, the illicit benefit obtained.

Consumption began in October an investigation with which it wants to put the protection of the “right of access to housing as a priority action of the Ministry of Protecting the rights of consumers,” they point out from this department in a statement. At the moment, in that context, the Bustinduy team has opened a sanctioning file to Airbnb for refusing to eliminate thousands of tourist floors without a license from the platform, has ordered the withdrawal of 65,000 ads and has made known to the City of Madrid a list of 15,000 illegal holiday properties for its closure and sanction.

In addition, the General Directorate of Consumption investigates the great managers of tourist floors for possible fraudulent practices, after detecting indications that they offer “lack or information that, even being truthful, can errorly induce the recipients, for their content or presentation”, how to see that the owner is a individual instead of a company or a manager.