09 Jul 2016 5:04 PM:

Dear all

I am asking for advice on Spanish rental law on behalf of someone close to me living in Ibiza. She has been there over ten years and her children were born and are settled there, as is her work. Unfortunately, she has never been able to afford to buy there and prices have been rising steeply in the last few years, so she has very few options in terms of alternative places to live. I would be grateful if people could avoid judgment on her situation; it's not ideal, hence the need to ask for advice.

She is currently subletting a room in a two-bedroom place from her housemate. Unfortunately, since they agreed to live together, the housemate has been bringing other people in - a family of six living in a caravan in the garden, successive single men in the tool shed(!). My friend raised the issue and was met with shouting, requests to leave and the housemate's ex-boyfriend coming round and shouting at her as well.

Now the situation has worsened, so that every time she comes home from work the housemate starts to harass her, telling her to pack her bags right then and leave, talking over her and shouting at her, and refusing to leave her alone. Moving is not an option until the winter at the earliest, when the summer letting prices decrease. My friend works long hours and she and her children are finding this terribly stressful. I have advised her to openly make a video of the harassment for evidence, but I am not clear on Spanish law with regard to harassment and what in England would be called the 'covenant of quiet enjoyment' - that is, the tenant's right to peaceful and unimpeded use of the property.

Assuming the harassment continues and is recorded, can my friend issue a 'denuncia', and if so, on what grounds? What is the law regarding a tenant's right to peacefully use the property? Is the situation affected by the fact that the housemate is also renting and the house is her main residence?

Any advice would be welcome, especially from people with relevant legal knowledge. Please be aware that she is not currently in a position to simply leave, especially as her work is seasonal and involves crazy hours during the summer.

Thanks in advance.

Thread: Rental help please - Landlady harassment

--------------------------------------

26 Apr 2014 4:43 PM:

Hi there JWhite

Have your daughter and SIL thought about doing an English teaching course? As long as you don't live in an area with too many Brits (for competition), there is HUGE demand in Spain to learn English. It's not cheap - I did mine in 2006 and it cost £850 in London, my husband did his out here and it was about €1200 - but it is pretty much a guarantee of a job where we are (Seville) even though there are quite a few expats here. And it's not unpleasant work; sociable, not too hard, and the hours are pretty good; I don't work Fridays or weekends, for example. I'm probably missing something, but I often wonder why more people on these forums don't do it. Even those who couldn't afford the course fees could probably make some money on the side just doing conversation classes (HrEspana, maybe?).

 

Thread: End to Mediterranean dream?

--------------------------------------

22 Apr 2013 11:25 PM:

I definitely don't tar all men with the same brush, I assure you! However, when it comes to abortion I'm quite happy to say that men, as a group, really, seriously need to sit down, shut up and stop telling women what they can and can't do with their own bodies. You can choose to take that personally if you like, or you could choose to open your eyes to the reality of women's lives, constantly being dictated to by men, and try and empathise a little with us, and perhaps imagine how life would be if you were forced to spend forty-odd years of your life either totally occupied with child-bearing or constantly worried that you might have to make those choices.

Some men manage that, but unfortunately they're in a very non-vocal minority. Most either join in the foetus-fetishising or simply wash their hands of the whole business and leave women to bear their entire burden of fighting for the reproductive freedom that has been shown to benefit the entire community.

Thread: Abortion reform in Spain : Madness!

--------------------------------------

22 Apr 2013 7:04 PM:

No, the abortion-as-sacrament quote means that if men had any idea what they were talking about with regards to either pregnancy or abortion, ie if they actually had to go through either, they'd shove through legislation making it an inalienable right quick-smart.

The sheer amount of them that parrot these stupid myths about pregnancy AND abortion being a walk in the park, that bang on about abortion being used as contraception (yes, because getting one is so easy) and - vilest of all - go on about people (that is, women) 'taking responsibility for the consequences of their actions', as if having an abortion isn't doing exactly that, and as if punishment for supposed irresponsibility is a good reason to bring another unwanted child into the world.

As for being 'tongue-in-cheek'; again, you wouldn't be if it actually affected you in any real way, but it doesn't.

Thread: Abortion reform in Spain : Madness!

--------------------------------------

20 Apr 2013 1:54 PM:

All these people giving 'their own thoughts' about the matter.

 

It's no-one's bloody business but the woman concerned, and her partner's if she chooses to consult him (ie if he's not violent, drug-addicted or otherwise ruling himself out).

 

It amazes me how people express concern about the life of the non-sentient foetus while not caring about the life of the mother, nor whether the foetus, when it becomes sentient, will actually have much a life with parents who don't want it or can't cope with it. Don't these people have any idea of what bringing up a child involves? It's not something one should do unless one is absolutely ready to dedicate oneself to the child and put its needs above one's own for the next twenty years or so. Every child deserves to be wanted, by loving parents who are emotionally (and ideally financially) able to cope with it.

 

Once again: If men could get pregnant, abortion would be a sacrament.

Thread: Abortion reform in Spain : Madness!

--------------------------------------