Neighbour has rented out our property abroad without permission!

[unsurebut]

My father has a property in Spain. It's been in the family since the 70s as a holiday home. Until 3/4 years ago my father travelled there regularly and the place was occasionally used by other family. Then my father had a catastrophic stroke and wasn't able to travel for a while and the place wasn't used as much.

The neighbour there offered to keep an eye on the place in return for his family being able to stay there on the odd weekend/couple of weeks in the summer. He's a nice guy and has done a lot to modernise the property. My father then gave him permission to rent out the flat when it wasn't being used, again, for the odd weekend / couple of weeks in the summer, nothing permanent or long term and we were to be kept informed about who was staying there and when in advance of it being rented out.

Fast forward to this year and my father has recovered enough to travel. We've booked to go there in June, all very excited. My father emailed the neighbour, only to be told that it's not possible because he's rented the property out until January! Not only is this not permitted, we weren't even told! I am absolutely outraged and my father is very cross. He's emailed the neighbour to say that we will be arriving on said dates and that's non-negotiable, the neighbour has replied to say that he's away this week so will respond next week. Meanwhile, flights have been booked, all on the assumption that we were to be notified in advance of it being rented out.

There's communication between my father and the neighbour referring to the agreement, but no specific contract or anything, and the arrangement has worked well until now. I think what has happened is that the neighbour has become used to us not using it and has been renting it out far more than we were aware.

So what do we do now if he refuses to get the 'tenants' to leave?! Surely their contract with the neighbour is null and void because he doesn't have permission to rent it out on this basis? The neighbour DEFINITELY knows this.

AIBU to demand the people leave so we can use the flat as and when we want?

Has your dad considered renting it via Airbnb himself, and then just changing the locks back?

@diddl The neighbour had keys to the house as he would clean the pool and check on the house to make sure everything was ok (which my Dad paid him to do). Neighbour obviously was in cahoots with the guy who has stolen the house and must have got a payment from him!

Yes we've considered it but my Dad is elderly and afraid of any possible violent/threatening repercussions, sadly.

You really can't trust anyone anymore can you?

I’m sorry to tell you that the neighbour has done a number on your dad here,

Well it certainly seems that there will be times that it has been rented out for that OP's dad knows nothing about (including this one!)

Unfortunately Op's dad started the arrangement & unless there's anything in writing it might be hard to prove how often the neighbour was allowed to rent the property out for.

As someone else pointed out Spanish law is very different. As the people in the property have probably got a contract and have been paying rent they have rights and I'm pretty sure you can't kick them out. You need to contact a Spanish lawyer immediately and tell them exactly what has happened.

Thanks for the link I'll check it out

Read the thread!
Father wasn’t even aware it was rented out other than occasional weeks to the neighbours friends and family.

Not sure why you’re quoting me but it’s general advice. If your renting out at all for cash as he was you need a rental licence .

Someone linked it on page 10

Linked on page 9 or 10

@unsurebut to be honest, you knew your father had a house so why didnt you or your siblings organise a proper management company to deal with it when your dad fell ill, instead of leaving it up to your neighbour? you have practically given him free reign to do what he wishes with regard to renting it out. you have no proof of the rental he has been paid or how much he has conned your father!

Who has been paying the utilities & property taxes etc over the time of the neighbour looking ofter the property?
Someone from your family may need to travel out there, to find out exactly what's going on.

I just cannot understand how alarm bells weren't ringing with all of you who knew about this "arrangement". This was an accident waiting to happen, and before anyone says 'this isn't helpful' - it needs saying. This is not letting somebody borrow your pushbike for a week - it's a property, for heaven's sake, and one in a foreign country, where laws are different, and without any legal agreement even! Did it really not occur to anyone that this was not going to end well? Did it really not occur to anyone that this guy was letting the property and probably trousering the money?

Edited for typos

It's confusing.

Where did your dad think the cash was coming from?

It's not confusing.

OPs father has (in the past) received cash from the neighbour when he goes over there. The money is from the neighbour renting out the property from time to time as a holiday let (with agreement from OPs Dad - but presumably none of the legal obligations satisfied)

OPs father has not been there for several years so hasn't received any cash.

It now transpires that the neighbour in Spain has let the property long term.

OPs father now wants to visit his own property but has been told he can't because it is rented out long-term.

The neighbour didn't have authority to do this, and no money has been handed over to the OPs father as he wasn't even aware that a long let had been agreed.

It seems to me the people least likely to have broken the law in this scenario are the renters, who presumably rented the flat out in good faith and might well have nowhere else to go at short notice.

It also sounds as if the law will be on their side.

It sounds most likely the neighbour has broken the law, by renting the flat out long term, but you'd need to prove that was against the original agreement and if he's also been doing things like paying taxes / utilities I think it will be difficult. It will probably be quite easy for the neighbour to argue he was confused about what was allowed.

The OP's Dad may also have broken the law by not setting up rentals as required and not having the relevant checks / registrations in place or an agent with a legal contract. As property owner, that really falls to him, not the neighbour (if the neighbour has done all of this that will be good but we don't know that).

The good thing about this is that it's not really in the neighbour's interests to alert the authorities. However, it will be in the renters interests to do so if they have been deceived and are threatened with losing their home without adequate notice / in breach of contract. Presumably they have no knowledge that a British family might want to use the flat for a holiday at some point.

The best outcome will be amicable - the renters are given notice that at the end of the rental term the property owner wants the property back and leave then without fuss, the neighbour gets renumeration for his trouble so far and so that he'll walk away and not cause trouble and you get the keys back and either get a professional management company to run it or only use it for yourselves or friends you personally give keys to.

Going in all guns blazing and assuming the law will be in line with your holiday wants and casual (possibly illegal) rental set up I suspect will end really, really badly for the OP's Dad.

@hasSpanishlawbeenbroken I have to agree my sympathy is with the renters. Just hoping the place is still in good repair.

We've all read of Brits being broken by squatters never mind renters and Spanish law and walking away from their homes.

I'm speaking as a UK landlord.

"A Guide to Renting in Spain | Compare My Move" https://www.comparemymove.com/international-removals/removals-to-spain/renting-in-spain

Interesting

Brings back the whole Mexican house theif.CF neighbour!

I'm sorry, I didn't read all 16 pages of the thread so my contribution may be redundant.
I have a property in Spain and experience with evicting tenants so here is the gist of the law: regardless of the neighbour's right to rent the place, the law is on the side of the tenants. Tenancy agreements (even verbal ones) are very strong, you cannot end the agreement before the due date and cannot increase rent in the first three years of the tenancy and, once someone's been to your house for 48h they legally become your tenants. You can only evict them through court (if they don't agree to leave voluntarily). If you attempt to enter the property, change the locks or disconnect the utilities, the police will charge you with breaking and entering.

There are many uninformed comments about OP's DF tax situation.

As a foreign, non-resident , home owner, tax is charged on a notional rental income, based on the value of the property.
It is iniquitous, but unavoidable.

So, my dad has written this chap an email laying out what we want - tenants out, keys returned, all of the accounts for the past five years so we can work out how much money my dad should have been getting and then take it from there. The man has acknowledged receipt of the email but said nothing else.

I saw my dad over the weekend and he's getting crosser and crosser about it. In the interim of me posting the OP and now, he's unfortunately been told that he probably has skin cancer, so that's another thing to worry about. Puts everything into perspective though.

Will update when the neighbour replies, but I'm provisionally thinking to go out to Spain a week on Saturday for a night or two. Either to deliver a letter from the lawyer, or just to turn up and see him to put some pressure on him to sort this out and see exactly how the land lies.

Name change Op @Gracelet ?