81–90 of 930 posts
Why would anyone invest in development in a country with such laws?
Because houses there are very cheap, you can have one with an ocean/sea view without paying through the nose while still living in Europe.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
That is how it actually works in Spain. You must present the contract when you legally register as a citizen in the city's town hall. That doesn't stop people from circumventing this requirement, on either side of the contract.
Thanks for that info! So why is this such a big problem? Is it just that the government doesn't want to trust it's own records? If people are bypassing the law, I would think it reasonable to allow the consequences to transpire - eg evicted if you don't have a written contract.
If your revenue is not enough to pay for an housing under regular contract but a shaddy owner allows you to pay a rent for the place so that he can bypass a number of regulations by pretending he has no tenants, would you choose living in the street or a car or would you accept it, hoping it is a temporary situation?
Most people would choose the later hence the way the laws are written. Landowners are usually the wealthy ones, so the less at risk of suffering.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
> Can anyone tell me how is exactly this going to work out? Not to mention all the "expats" and "digital nomads" that are willing to pay whatever the landlord says because they really really want to live here without thinking about the consequences, but that's another story. Slowly, more regulation is added to get the problem somewhat under control. Rents capped by index, annual rent increases cap, introduction of "t…
I don't think that helps honestly. What would help IMO is a lot of new housing close to jobs where foreigners can't apply. Because no matter how much you build, if someone from overseas is going to say "I pay double of whatever you've been offered" I can't compete. And I know that's happening because my Gf has to work with this sort of people, sadly.
But if the law blocks "I pay double of whatever you've been offered" from happening (which is true today, they cannot increase the rent to whatever they want), then you'd have a chance to compete because the competition is no longer about who can pay the most.
They can only enter if you leave a window or door open for them to enter.
If they break-in that is a criminal offence and the police will treat it as a buglary and arrest those in the property.
I used to squat here on Airstrip One in my twenties when I was homeless.
We did not squat in homes where people lived, We squatted in empty properties.
The utilities companies would reconnect the gas and electricy for us but only if we paid a substantial deposit.
I dont see anything wrong with squatting in empty homes.
It is the fault of society that creates homelessness and squatting is sometimes the only way to get a roof over your head.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
I don't think that helps honestly. What would help IMO is a lot of new housing close to jobs where foreigners can't apply. Because no matter how much you build, if someone from overseas is going to say "I pay double of whatever you've been offered" I can't compete. And I know that's happening because my Gf has to work with this sort of people, sadly.
> I don't think that helps honestly. What would help IMO is a lot of new housing close to jobs where foreigners can't apply. Because no matter how much you build, if someone from overseas is going to say "I pay double of whatever you've been offered" I can't compete. But if the law blocks "I pay double of whatever you've been offered" from happening (which is true today, they cannot increase the rent to whatever they…
In the end, we either do it like in Vienna or Singapore, or we're not going to solve it.
https://archive.is/xdoLf
Earlier quoted context omitted.
"Making it too easy to get rid of squatters would expose the most vulnerable people in society to even more abuse, and making it trickier for absentee landlords to get rid of real squatters is considered a fair price to prevent this." Except this is poorly thought out and not really true. You can provide better protection for both sides by requiring written and recorded contracts for real property use/rental, just as…
So what happens when the law requires a contract yet the landlord doesn't offer a contract and simply collects the rent?
Earlier quoted context omitted.
I live in Spain (Valencia) and see lots of okupas around the city. In reality they occupy buildings that aren't being occupied. Property taxes are incredibly low here and many people who own empty buildings are fine with letting them sit, fall apart, and eat the property tax than do anything with them. These are the buildings that are prone to Okupas. I've never seen nor heard of it happening to actively used buildin…
What's madness is the state allowing property owners to leave vacant, dilapidated buildings to blight the neighborhood. Owners should be required to maintain their structures and keep them occupied, or forfeit the property.
Who defines what “maintained” means? Beyond safety concerns about the structure (and even then, they shouldn’t be able to tell me anything as long as I post a danger unsafe structure keep out sign and lock the doors), why would the government have any right to tell me what to do with my building?
One thing I don't get -- if the law doesn't help why don't the owners of these properties release fart spray everywhere and turn the heat up to max until it is unlivable?
I am not familiar with the specifics in Spain, but in a lot of jurisdictions that would be illegal. Until they are legally evicted they have the exact same rights as regular tenants, and harassing them would be a crime. The reasoning behind this is that some shady landlords might try to claim that genuine tenants are squatters in order to get rid of them. There are plenty of desperate people who'd accept a verbal con…
That seems far-fetched as a risk. Why would a company offering rentals push out someone who paid rent (even if late) and lose out on revenue/maintenance costs trying to get another renter?
That doesn't seem very complex.