AGIA defends landlords who “do things right” and rejects criticism of the entire sector
Jordi Ribó says the majority of landlords will maintain similar conditions for their tenants
The Andorran Association of Real Estate Agents and Managers (AGIA) has come out in defence of landlords amid criticism surrounding the imminent lifting of the rent freeze.
The organisation’s president, Jordi Ribó, argues that landlords’ behaviour should not be generalised and says a significant proportion will maintain the current conditions of their rental agreements.
In statements reported by RTVA, Ribó defended landlords who, according to him, have maintained similar conditions for their tenants in recent years.
The AGIA president believes that public debate tends to focus on the most controversial cases while overlooking landlords who do not take advantage of the end of rent controls to impose significant increases.
“All landlords are bad”
In fact, Ribó criticised this perception and argued that it is unfair to put the entire sector “in the same box”. According to the AGIA president, many landlords are acting responsibly and do not intend to impose disproportionate increases on their tenants.
The situation comes after years of rent regulation. Ribó points out that landlords have had their rents frozen since 2019 and believes this factor must also be taken into account when assessing the decisions some property owners may make once the freeze is lifted.
AGIA also considers it understandable that some landlords may decide to substantially modify rental conditions or even put their properties up for sale.
Ribó argues that property owners have continued to bear the costs associated with their properties throughout these years, despite the restrictions on rental prices.
AGIA says most landlords will maintain similar conditions
Despite the cases that have already caused concern among tenants, Ribó says he does not believe they represent the general situation in the market.
The AGIA president maintains that most landlords will take a different approach and either maintain conditions similar to those currently in place or apply only limited increases.
The head of the real estate association has also defended the professionalism of the sector in response to the criticism it regularly receives.
Ribó acknowledges that landlords and real estate professionals are often portrayed as responsible for the housing market situation, but rejects the idea that this perception can be applied to the entire sector.
According to AGIA, the end of the rent freeze should therefore not automatically be associated with widespread or disproportionate increases, as the majority of landlords are expected to maintain similar conditions for their tenants.