Tenant or landlord's name for utilities?

Do you have a query on how to get things done in Andalucia, where to find things, who to call? Find out by posting and hear about others experiences.
Emma-Louise
Andalucia.com Amigo
Posts: 28
Joined: Sat Jan 21, 2006 3:50 pm
Location: Marbella

Tenant or landlord's name for utilities?

Postby Emma-Louise » Sun Jun 09, 2019 11:26 am

Hello,

2 questions....

So we are thinking about renting out our Spanish home (to go and rent elsewhere as a test drive to possibly moving area)

We are residents

I have been looking through the list of tax deductibles - IBI, community fees etc...... and utilities popped up.....it has made me think - I think I'd like to keep them in my name and then bill the tenant - Is that the done thing? I've no idea!

Then how does that work with the tax declarations - bit cheeky of course, but can you deduct it as an expense even if you are getting paid it back?

Thank you!

elusive
Andalucia Guru
Posts: 3275
Joined: Sat Apr 07, 2012 11:49 am
Location: East of Malaga

Re: Tenant or landlord's name for utilities?

Postby elusive » Sun Jun 09, 2019 11:35 am

Properties we have rented the bills were/are in the landlords name and we just pay the landlord. Seems to be standard practice from others i know. To much hassle putting them in other peoples name when alot of tenants dont stay for years on end

Out first landlord was a company who owned large amounts of property so prob to much effort to change bills into other ppls name.they just emailed us the bill and we paid it at the bank.second landlord an individual
Last edited by elusive on Sun Jun 09, 2019 4:56 pm, edited 2 times in total.

jhonie99
Andalucia.com Amigo
Posts: 134
Joined: Fri Oct 23, 2009 12:05 pm

Re: Tenant or landlord's name for utilities?

Postby jhonie99 » Sun Jun 09, 2019 12:25 pm

It's more standard practice to put the utilities in the tenant's name. e.g. v easily done with Endesa; just add the tenant's name as a third party through the online system. The landlord retains ownership, the tenant is responsible for paying the bills.

Having said that, we'll be renting out our finca later in the year and intend to include water,elec and wifi in the rent with limits. The house will be fully furnished also, so it's an attempt to get a tenant quickly and only certain foreigners allowed, lol. No Spanish, Italians, Russians or Polish, for starters.

When we rented we always had the bills in our name, I insisted on it!! Back then, for the landlord it was easier to avoid paying tax. Now it's more difficult as including the catastral reference in the yearly tax return (tenant), automatically flags the landlord income to Agencia Tributaria (good news).

Manchesteral
Resident
Posts: 1967
Joined: Wed Mar 12, 2014 11:48 pm

Re: Tenant or landlord's name for utilities?

Postby Manchesteral » Sun Jun 09, 2019 12:41 pm

I have been renting the same apartment in Las Palmas for the last two years now and pay €550.00 per month, that includes water and electricity, my wifi I have to pay for myself, I have never seen a utility bill so presumably they go directly to the owner.

I am moving to Torrox pueblo next Friday and will be paying €420.00 which includes water, electricity AND wifi so it's a much superior deal financially !

Of course it's always a better deal to have an all inclusive package but if the landlord wanted to bill me for the utilities I would want to see the bill.

The new deal I have was offered to me by a very careful and crafty owner and I won't say how it works on an open forum but I can explain by pm and I believe it's perfectly legal :-)

alpineSi
Andalucia.com Amigo
Posts: 182
Joined: Fri Aug 14, 2015 3:00 pm
Location: Esp

Re: Tenant or landlord's name for utilities?

Postby alpineSi » Sun Jun 09, 2019 1:55 pm

Two places we've rented over last 4 years have seen utilities remain in landlord's name but bank details changed to debit our account. We asked about putting in our actual name but there's always an admin fee so didn't bother.
A friend did do it with their rented flat and it came back to bite them when they moved out. I can't remember the story but lots of hassle.
As a tenant, the only real reason I can see for putting them all in my name is that I would have control over the tariff and might get some discounts / deals online.

elusive
Andalucia Guru
Posts: 3275
Joined: Sat Apr 07, 2012 11:49 am
Location: East of Malaga

Re: Tenant or landlord's name for utilities?

Postby elusive » Sun Jun 09, 2019 4:52 pm

We always get emailed the actual leccy /water etc bill. Of course you need to see it so you know what you are actually paying for. I would do what evers easiest for the O.P as both ways are common place

markwilding
Andalucia Guru
Posts: 7777
Joined: Fri Aug 14, 2009 11:02 am
Location: Bilbao Spain

Re: Tenant or landlord's name for utilities?

Postby markwilding » Mon Jun 10, 2019 1:09 pm

jhonie99 wrote: and only certain foreigners allows. No Spanish, Italians, Russians or Polish, for starters.

.
So you won’t be renting to my wife of son? I’m not clear why you think these groups are more problematic than others.
Can you even legally discriminate against them?

Emma-Louise
Andalucia.com Amigo
Posts: 28
Joined: Sat Jan 21, 2006 3:50 pm
Location: Marbella

Re: Tenant or landlord's name for utilities?

Postby Emma-Louise » Mon Jun 10, 2019 4:33 pm

Thanks everyone
Regardless of whether it helps us out tax wise or not, I think I'd like to keep it in our name and bill the tenant.....we've lived here for 10 years and after trial and error have the best electric plan etc - so would advise the future tenants to keep it the same but if they wanted to change it I can do it online


Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 52 guests