Rubén Zaballos, a 39-year-old businessman with 150 rental properties, claims he has faced squatters, illegal occupants, and drug dealing in his flats, which has led him to abandon long-term residential rentals.
The debate about housing in Spain has resurfaced with the testimony of Rubén Zaballos, a 39-year-old businessman who owns 150 rental properties. During his appearance on the programme La Mesa on Antena 3, Zaballos explained the reasons that have led him to reduce long-term residential rentals, as reported by cronista.com.
Zaballos stated that for years he focused on long-term rentals at low prices, but conflicts with tenants have forced him to change his strategy. "I would love to rent my flats to families for the long term. In fact, I did, but I have had everything. I have had squatters, illegal occupants, drug dealing centres, and in the end, it is impossible," he declared.
"I would love to rent my flats to families, but I have had squatters, illegal occupants, and in the end, it is impossible"
The landlord detailed that many of his properties are located in coastal municipalities in Galicia and that he rented them for an average of 300 euros per month. They were two and three-bedroom flats, often with a pool, garage, and storage room, and fully furnished. Despite the low prices, the issues of insecurity and incident management led him to reconsider the model.
"I have a significant fixed cost structure, as I pay over a hundred thousand euros a month in mortgages. I have sixty employees and, besides this company, I have other businesses," he explained. "I can't be on alert for a small issue in a flat, for anything that might arise, because there are a lot of different situations," he added.
Zaballos also recounted his business journey. Thirteen years ago, he said, he had "nothing, no flats, no money, no job" and had just finished two university degrees. "I had two options: either move to Germany or start a business. And I decided to reinvent myself," he recalled. His first business was a digital psychology portal, which served as a springboard for other projects. He then began buying derelict flats in the historic centres of Salamanca and Málaga.
Zaballos' testimony comes in a context of tensions in the rental market, with rising prices and an increasingly reduced supply in many areas. The situation he describes, with squatters and illegal occupants, is one of the arguments landlords use to justify withdrawing properties from residential rental and moving them to tourist rentals or for sale.
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