MADRID, 19 (EUROPA PRESS)
According to data from the Self-Employment Observatory, promoted by the self-employed organization Uatae, 43% of self-employed workers spend between 25% and 50% of their monthly net income on rent.
For this association, it is "alarming" that thousands of self-employed workers are forced to maintain their activity "under constant economic pressure, with little room to invest, save, or grow."
"In most cases, these payments aren't optional. Those who can't afford them simply have to close," complains María José Landaburu, general secretary of Uatae.
Landaburu also warned that this situation is structural, not temporary. "We have been warning for years that rising rents, especially in stressed urban areas, have become one of the main threats to self-employment and local commerce," he explains.
Furthermore, Uatae warns that the "unfair" competition generated by investment funds and large retail chains has driven up the price of premises, "destroying small traditional businesses and stripping neighborhoods and cities of their identity."
Therefore, the organization is calling for commercial rental prices to be regulated in stressed areas; for direct rental assistance to be expanded for self-employed individuals with commercial premises; and for a review of commercial leases.
"You can't sustain an economic activity if between a quarter and half of your income goes directly to rent. It's urgent to recognize that the commercial rental market also needs regulation. Let's not allow real estate speculation to sink the self-employed," Landaburu emphasizes.
