More than half of property rentals go 'undeclared'

Over half of all properties rented out in Spain go undeclared by the landlord to the taxman - with Cataluña and Madrid harbouring some of the worst offenders.

This figure has been estimated by Hacienda technicians who report that the situation is becoming more widespread due to current economic conditions.

The report was published by the Hacienda, titled ‘Informe sobre alquileres sumergidos en España’ last week.

The Hacienda technicians compared data from both the Agencia Tributaria and the Ministry for Housing, with the results revealing that over 60% of the tax evasion is concentrated in Cataluña, Andalucía and Madrid, while the levels of lowest fraud are found in most of the province in the North of the country.

Revenue from undeclared rentals is estimated to be worth more than 3 billion € a year, and over the last 12 months the amount is thought to have grown by 19.3%.

The Hacienda is appaently aware that very few tourists rentals on the costas are declared fully to the taxman.