Self-employed and looking to rent a home?

At Testa Residencial we cater for this kind of professional person, helping them to rent a home.

In recent months in many Spanish cities demand for home renting has outstripped supply.

Perhaps the most obvious consequence of this, in line with economic theory, is the increase in rental prices. According to the Spanish Index of Private Housing Rental Prices (ARCA), this year rental prices have been increasing by around 4% each month. In fact, we need to go back two and a half years, to April 2016, to find a negative figure.

But this is not the only consequence. This imbalance between supply and demand has also resulted in what we call the ‘casting effect’, especially in renting between private individuals.

What is this ‘casting effect’? If you’re currently searching for a home to rent you’re sure to know what we’re talking about. The storyline could be as follows:

You consult a home rental website and see one you like. You see the ad was posted two hours ago. You call, you don’t want to miss out! The phone is answered by the person who you hope will be your future landlord. The first thing they say to you is: “In just two hours I’ve already received ten phone calls from people interested in renting the property”. You arrange to view the flat at 6.30pm on Wednesday. The landlord asks that you arrive on time. He is arranging viewing visits at half-hour intervals.

The day arrives. You arrive on time and ring the door bell. They open the door. You go up to the flat. At first sight you love it. Your future landlord describes the features of the property and you can already imagine yourself watching a film on the sofa.

Now it’s your turn. You describe yourself. You are a lawyer with a ten-year legal career. You come from Castellón and have recently arrived in Madrid in search of career opportunities. Single, no children. No pets! And as an ex-smoker you hate people smoking in your house.

The landlord seems interested in your profile. You are getting on well with each other. He begins to ask questions. He wants to know more. He nods encouragingly; it seems he likes your answers. All except the one about your income.

“I’m self-employed”, you reply, and the atmosphere changes. You have slipped down the ranking of candidates. You try to rescue the situation but the look on his face says it all.

“Well, it’s been a pleasure. I’m going to finish seeing the rest of the interested people today. I’ll call you and let you know one way or the other”, says the person who you now doubt is going to be your future landlord. The casting is over.

For many private landlords, the stability of their tenants’ income is a crucial factor. They couldn’t care less about guarantees, deposits or advance monthly rental payments. A regular salary associated with a permanent labour contract is nowadays the only thing that many landlords look for to protect themselves against the risk of default.

Perhaps if we put ourselves in the position of this landlord we can understand how they feel. Fear of risk is a human feeling and this flat could be the fruit of many years of hard work or their only source of income. It is understandable they want to protect it.

But in the home rental market there are other kinds of landlord self-employed people can turn to. There are property companies specialising in homes to rent with a wide range of properties for all tenant profiles. And Testa Residencial is one of them.

According to the Spanish Employment Ministry, in Spain there are over two million self-employed professional people who represent almost 9% of the labour force. At Testa Residencial we want to cater for this customer segment too, enabling them to access the home rental market. We take into account the characteristics of this kind of professional, adjusting our requirements to their profile and trying to cater for their needs.

So, if you are self-employed and looking to rent a home be sure to visit us.

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