"Rampant Substandard Housing" as Trade Union Denounces Idealista and Fotocasa

Spain's General Union of Workers (UGT) has called for an investigation into idealista and Fotocasa, the two largest real estate marketplaces in Spain, to remove listings the UGT alleges are illegal.

On 5 December, UGT denounced Idealista and Fotocasa for allowing the continued exploitation of tenants in Spain. The union alleged several illegal practices on their real estate portals, taking aim at the portals and real estate agents for clear breaches of the law, manipulative monetisation, and publishing substandard housing.

"These are not market conditions; they are abuses that leave potential tenants defenceless," said the UGT, calling on swift action to ensure all listings containing illegal content are taken down.

UGT also took aim at real estate agencies for offering properties that lack the required certification that would allow tenants register the property as their legal address. Furthermore, and perhaps more worringly, are claims that real estate agencies are asking for monetary "pre-reservation" fees to be pushed up the waiting list, without outlining how they are secured or returned.

Finally, UGT also called for the creation of a 'specialised unit' to address real estate abuses in Spain.

Read part of the complaint [translated from Spanish] below:

The General Union of Workers (UGT) has filed a complaint with the Ministry of Housing and Urban Agenda and the Ministry of Social Rights, Consumer Affairs and Agenda 2030 against the main real estate portals where advertisements for the sale and rental of properties are published, Idealista and Fotocasa.

The complaint requests the removal of advertisements that do not comply with housing regulations and, above all, highlights a reality of real estate abuses where substandard housing is rampant. In compliance with the European Digital Services Regulation, these types of publications must be withdrawn in order to guarantee the effective protection of consumers and users of digital environments.

The UGT union understands that the platforms, as domain owners, are responsible for the content advertised and, therefore, should not allow illegal ads to appear. The platforms determine which ads users can see, and it is the users who generate revenue from each ad published. Therefore, the portals must ensure that substandard housing or properties that do not comply with regulations are not advertised.

Similarly, there are listings for residential rentals that require a contract of less than a year, essentially treating it as a seasonal rental. This allows the property owner to avoid registering the mandatory security deposit. This is the case with many listings that seek to circumvent regulations by establishing contracts of less than a year.

Read the full complaint here.