Data from the Fundación Affinity Foundation and the Fotocasa portal demonstrated the difficulties of people with pets. Having conducted a small joint study in order to establish how difficult it is for pet owners, mainly dogs and cats, to find free rental housing and demonstrate the barriers they have to face. According to their figures, there are about 11 million domestic dogs and cats in Spain. Almost 44% of families have one or another pet.
According to Fotocasa, up to 23% of the real estate market in Spain accounts for rental housing. The number of offers in this market segment has not stopped growing since the economic crisis that began in 2008 and continues to this day. At the same time, demand in recent years has increasingly preferred housing for rent rather than buying their own. There are many reasons, including economic ones, such as a drop in the average rate of income of the population, and purely domestic ones, including working conditions and accessibility of social infrastructure.
Despite the fact that a huge number of families in Spain own one or another pet and almost half own dogs or cats, there are still a large number of barriers to such potential tenants on the market. According to Fotocasa, at the beginning of 2022, only 4% of landlords were definitely willing to provide living space to this category of the population. And most importantly, the percentage of such landlords has decreased compared to 2021 (5%). The law, of course, is on the side of homeowners. The «City Rent Law» (LAU) gives landlords the full right to decide whether to allow tenants' pets to live on their living space or not.
Affinity and Fotocasa indicate that although to draw attention to such a rather unusual situation. For the vast majority of people, pets are more than just tame animals. They are integral members of the family. Therefore, drawing attention to this situation and changing it for the better is quite an important step to create a more friendly and customer-oriented climate in the market. The problem with the distrust of homeowners is actually serious, since, according to company representatives, most rental contracts by default include the «no pets» clause and the question of negotiations is not even allowed.
From a more «cynical» point of view, the solution of this issue is necessary in the context of the market meeting the basic needs of buyers and supporting healthy demand in the segment, which today is one of the pillars of the Spanish real estate market. Since the trends of recent years show an increase in the number of pets among Spanish families, the issue will become more and more acute. What tools can help with solving the situation is a question in itself. The companies point to several options at once, including the development of a separate housing insurance scheme and legislative guarantees for homeowners in case of damage caused to the tenant's pets.
Maria Matus, Director of Research and press secretary of Fotocasa, emphasizes that in any case, the issue requires the attention of the whole society and can only be resolved through a transparent and extensive discussion.