A tenant in Zaragoza faced a rent increase of 350 euros, going from 600 to 950 euros. Unable to afford the hike, she contacted the Tenants' Union, where she learned she has the right to refuse and terminate the contract. Many tenants are unaware of this legal option. The union handles about 20 new cases per month and has called for a demonstration on May 24th in Santo Domingo Square.
The flaw in the data management system that hides legal rights 🏢
The lack of a centralized and accessible database on rental rights causes many tenants to sign off on increases without knowing they can object. A distributed system with smart contracts could record renewal clauses and automatically notify the user of their legal options. However, the real estate sector lacks technical standards to integrate this information, creating knowledge asymmetries between landlords and tenants.
The landlord's algorithm: raise the price and pray you don't report them 🤖
It seems some landlords use a very simple algorithm: raise the rent by 60% and hope the tenant doesn't have a union or WiFi to look up their rights. The strategy works until someone calls the Tenants' Union and discovers that no, they are not obligated to pay 950 euros for an apartment worth 600. The algorithm's next step will be to offer a discount if you sign a contract in cryptic language.