The Spanish cabinet yesterday approved a draft law to stimulate the rental market by, amongst other things, making it easier and quicker for landlords to kick out and recover rents from tenants who don’t pay.

With no shortage of empty properties in Spain, the goal of this draft legislation is to get more owners to offer their properties for rent. In the past owners have been discouraged from becoming landlords by laws that favour tenants, even when they don’t pay the rent.

Under the new measures approved by the cabinet, which still have to be passed by parliament, landlords will benefit from quicker trials and the right to start legal proceedings against tenants who miss one month’s rent payment.

Landlords will also be able to evict tenants to make way for their children or parents, so long as a clause to this effect is in the rental contract.