Consumption proposes to fine Rental Seguro with 3.6 million euros for possible abusive practices against tenants

The Ministry of Consumer Affairs has opened a new sanctioning file against the real estate company Rental Insurance for possible abusive practices against tenants in rental management. The file considers that the company has used its dominant position in the market to violate consumer rights over a long period of time.

“3,600,902 euros. That is the amount of the fine that the General Subdirectorate of Inspection and Sanctioning Procedure of the Ministry of Social Rights, Consumption and Agenda 2030 has proposed for Safe Rental,” as revealed this Monday by the consumer association Facua.

Among the illegal practices cited by the Ministry are the imposition of an alleged tenant care service, through which the collection of expenses is concealed. which should be assumed by the owneras well as the obligation to take out home insurance and an economic solvency study. Added to this is the limitation of the right to withdraw from the contract and the burden on tenants of all expenses derived from judicial or extrajudicial claims.

The sanction proposal presented by the Ministry, which must now be evaluated by the Secretary General of Consumption and Gaming, Andrés Barragán, will continue in the analysis phase during the coming months, given that a decision is expected once the allegations made by the parties have been reviewed.

Bustinduy: “The law of the jungle has been imposed”

The head of Consumption, Pablo Bustinduy, confirmed this Monday the opening of this sanctioning file, although he did not want to give details of it. “It is a sanction proposal and since we live in a very guarantee system, I cannot give an opinion on a procedure that is in progress because it could violate the rights of the parties,” the minister stated in an interview on RTVE. He only stated that the file “originated from complaints from consumers and the tenants’ union.”

Consumption already initiated a disciplinary file against Safe Rental last March for charging illegal commissions and forcing tenants to contract unsolicited services.

“The Ministry of Consumer Affairs has limited resources, but we are going to use them all to ensure that no company is above the law. In the rental market the law of the jungle has been imposed and abuses are occurring. There is a situation of defenselessness among consumers, which violates the right to decent housing,” the minister indicated.

He has also detailed that, in addition to the file open to Rental Insurance, “there are several files and several open investigationswhich are the previous step to opening a file.” Likewise, he recalled that Consumption has achieved “two judicial victories” that “forced Airbnb to remove advertisements for illegal tourist apartments and Booking proceeded to remove them from motu proprio“.