The cabinet of Spain on Tuesday are going to approve the extension of measures aimed at relaxing the financial burden on the rental tenants and homeowners hit by the coronavirus or COVID-19, government sources mentioned to Reuters.
With the new rules, tenants are going to be able to renew their already existing contracts for six months under the same conditions, while a ban on the utility companies cutting gas, water supplies and electricity are going to stay in place until September 30, the sources mentioned.
Spain to Extend Relax Financial Burden
For qualifying homeowners, the deadline to apply for a holiday on mortgage payments will be pushed back until the end of September from July 20. Battered by the pandemic lockdown and travel restrictions, Spain's economic output is likely to have shrunk 20 percent in the second quarter, according to the central bank.
In March, the government approved a 700-million euro aid package to help vulnerable households and later introduced a minimum income program to reach around 2.3 million people. But a U.N. report published on Monday criticized Spain's social protection net as insufficient and said the COVID-19 crisis had exacerbated the situation for its poorest citizens.
(With agency inputs)
