by admin Landlords are asking for increases of up to 25% for the renewal of their leases, as August and February are the months when most relocations, lease renewals and new tenancies take place. According to the research network E-Real Estates (Panhellenic Network of Real Estate Agents), since the beginning of June this year, part of the landlords who rent properties have contacted their tenants for the renewal of their three-year lease agreements, which are about to expire within the next 2-3 months. To renew the existing lease agreements with the same tenants, some landlords request an increase of rent even up to 25% in relation to 2019. If tenants do not accept such increase, they will be forced to look for another home. Landlords know that finding a home with affordable rent, which also matches some quality standards, is like winning the lottery; therefore, they know that the tenants will be finally forced to accept their rent increases as they have limited available options. At the same time, moving out of a property has a significant cost for the tenant. The head of E-Real Estates Network, Mr. Themis Bakas, points out that: “Most of the landlords, who ask for a high rent increase, are not the owners of one or two properties, but the owners of multiple apartments or even entire apartment block. In one of such cases, the tenant complained to the landlord that such an increase (25%) in too large to handle; however, the owner replied and advised the tenant to check the existing prices on the web for 50sqm flats and see what other landlords are asking for. Furthermore, there are many landlords who contact real estate agencies in their area for market research purposes, in order to familiarise themselves with the current rents, based on which they wish to adjust their current tenancy agreements”. Tenants are currently in despair; finding an affordable place to rent is like a dream.
According to Eurostat, affordable housing classifies as any home that does not force the household to spend more than 30% of its disposable monthly income on total housing expenses (rent, loan installments, bills, utilities). The rapid increase of housing cost in Greece, in relation to the average income of its population, is more than obvious. According to a Eurostat survey among 27 EU member states in 2018, the market cost of housing for tenants was the highest in Greece, as 83.1% of them spent over than 40% of their monthly income on housing, when the average expenditure in the 27 EU countries did not exceed 25.1%. In 2019, a new Eurostat survey recorded that 62.1% of tenants in Greece (the ‘champion’ of housing cost in the EU) spent more than 50% of their income on housing. The corresponding percentages of tenants in Romania was 29.4%, in Spain 26.2%, in Bulgaria 24.2%, in Portugal 14.5%, in Germany 10%, in France 8.6% and in Cyprus only 4, 4%.
Today, following the rising inflation and the rising energy costs, the cost of housing in Greece has risen even further. In 2022, single tenants are asked to spend 60% -70% of their salary on housing costs while families are asked to spend almost an entire salary. A recent survey by FHW GSEVEE states that 4 out of 10 households in Greece are facing a housing crisis, translated as 40% of the country’s population, followed by Bulgaria with 17.4%, while the EU mean is 9.2%. According to Raymond Hencks and the European Economic and Social Committee (20/20/2020), the housing policies of EU member states cannot be limited to the sole purpose of helping vulnerable people in finding a place to stay; instead, policies must adapt to the housing needs of families; assist in improving the existing quality of housing through renovations and upgrades; ensure decent and affordable housing for all citizens, where both quantitative and qualitative needs are identified.
Source: Eleni Bota