The COVID clause has come to renting and some landlords/landladies are already including it in the housing contract. The coronavirus health crisis has brought about a lot of uncertainty, and many owners have responded, in the face of a hypothetical new state of alarm, with this clause which is now being included in some renting contracts. The COVID-19 breakout has been like an earthquake that has shaken our lives and thus, many things have been forced to change.  Regarding the real estate world, there has been a price adjustment in property sales and the drop in renting has been negotiated as has debt forgiveness, among other circumstances. Before the state of alarm decree, many tenants left their rented houses in order to be able to live with their relatives. This situation especially happened regarding property rented to students, a fact with consequent harm to the owner who could not relet the property and on top of this stopped receiving the monthly payments. So that this kind of situation does not happen again, some proprietors are including the COVID clause in the contract. But what exactly does this clause consist of? What does it imply to the parties concerned, the owner and the tenant? What circumstances must take place in order to apply this clause which is included in the renting contract? Today, we will try to solve these issues.

THE REGULATION OF CONDITIONS IN THE EVENT OF A PANDEMIC

The COVID clause in a renting contract regulates renting conditions in the event of a pandemic. This clause is not in wide use even though it is being included more and more in renting contracts. In fact, this clause is annexed to the contract and it provides details of the terms that would change in the event of another confinement. First of all, we want to point out that it is absolutely legal to include the COVID clause in a contract. However, it is necessary that the parties concerned have knowledge of this. With regard to the contents of the clause, the proprietor can come to an agreement with the tenant as to the amount of financial compensation were he/she to leave the house in the event of confinement. The owner, after coming to an agreement with the tenant, decides, before including it in the contract, the amount which must be received  (on average, it is usually 60% of the rent). Thus, the agreement benefits both parties because the owner can still collect the monthly rent (although not the entire amount) and the tenant can leave the property without entering into illegality. This is very important because the clause avoids default or contract interruption both of which cases are, unfortunately, happening at present. Nevertheless, we must point out that before the COVID clause is included in the contract both the owner and the tenant must talk at great length about it, so that the tenant has full knowledge of the changes that would take place in the event of a confinement.

TO WHOM IS THIS CLAUSE DIRECTED TO?

The COVID clause is mainly directed to student contracts as they are the ones who, in great numbers, left their rented residences during the previous confinement in order to join their parents and relatives. This clause is also directed toward local and office rentals. However, it is not aimed at normal renting because in this case there is not a need for moving out of the property in the event of a confinement.