Mortgage relief for business premises and utility bill payment holidays agreed

SELF-EMPLOYED persons who own a business premises will not have to pay the mortgage on it until the month after quarantine ends, where they have been forced to shut down altogether or their earnings have 'significantly reduced'.

Deputy president Pablo Iglesias says this is an extension of the moratorium on mortgage repayments agreed two weeks ago for main residences for those affected, and the payment holiday includes both the interest and the capital.

If, for example, quarantine finishes on April 11 as provisionally decided, sole traders will not have to pay the mortgage on their business premises until the last day of May.

Also, they do not have to pay their electricity, gas or other fuel bills linked to the business if they are no longer trading during the lockdown, or have had to cut their workload drastically.

Sole traders, small and medium-sized firms and self-employed workers are able to shelve their Social Security, or National Insurance quotas – payable monthly at a flat rate starting from €283.31 – for up to six months, and their debt repayments until June this year.

At the moment, the moratorium on Social Security payments during the quarantine and the delaying of all others within the next six months only applies to those who have seen their income drop by at least 75%, and self-employed workers across Spain claim the measures are not enough.

A flat monthly benefit of €440 will also be paid to temporary contract workers who have been laid off during the quarantine.

Although a moratorium on rent payments cannot be 100% enforced – since for many landlords, what their tenants pay is their only, or a significant part of, their income, or covers the mortgage on the property – anyone who rents out a home or business premises and whose rent is not being paid due to the shutdown will also be given a payment holiday on any mortgage they have on the building.

Utility companies – gas, electricity and water – are now officially banned from cutting off anyone's supply due to non-payment.