British landlord’s champion opens offices in Spain as number of reluctant landlords increases

Paul Shamplina, founder of Landlord Action, has moved into the Spanish market at a time when there is an increase in the number of so-called reluctant landlords, many of them British, who have been forced by the downturn to rent out their properties.
 
He is working with British independent referencing agency, FCC Paragon and formed a new Spanish based company Paragon Advance España with offices in Malaga and Madrid to offer landlords tenant referencing and a rent warranty service.
 
The move is a result of personal experience. After buying an apartment in Mijas he could not find sufficient property rental services. ‘I trawled numerous agents in an attempt to find someone that could offer me the cover I wanted to ensure I not only found a legitimate tenant but, if they did end up defaulting on the payments, I wouldn’t lose out financially,’ he explained.
 
‘Last year there were 25,000 eviction cases proceeding through the Spanish courts, a figure which more than proved that landlords needed a safeguard, and yet I couldn’t find anyone that could offer me the type of landlord protection which is so readily available in the UK.  There was a definite gap in the marketplace,’ he added.
 
He points out that the Spanish economy is currently still very fragile and with unemployment standing at around 20%, an increasing number of owners are resorting to letting out their property as they struggle to pay their mortgage.  
 
But he believes that without proper referencing, landlords could end up with a tenant who is not financially sound or credible. ‘The Spanish legal system can take up to 18 months to progress an eviction and, during this time, the landlord will still be liable for the mortgage and utility bills and will have no redress over the non paying tenant,’ Shamplina said.
 
An example is John Radley, a landlord who found that not having a safety measure in place cost him dearly. He said that when he asked his Spanish agent to carry out some checks on the prospective tenant he was told; ‘We don’t do that sort of thing over here’. The tenant duly stopped paying the rent and he had to start eviction proceedings which, from start to finish took 12 months through the Spanish courts and cost €9,350 in loss of rent, a phone bill of €800 and €3000 in legal fees.
 
In contrast, Frances Jonathan Romero Molina, did take out a warranty at a cost of just €348. ‘I had complete peace of mind knowing that Paragon were taking charge of all the steps and legal procedures and, whilst this was going on, they were also paying the rent into my bank account,’ he said.