More and more landlords in the province of Malaga are being forced to take their tenants to court over non-payment of rent or deposits, figures from the National Statistics Institute (INE) reveal. Last year legal action was sought in 1,019 cases and in more than 91 per cent of these, (931) this was for non-payment of rent.

The province comes behind only Barcelona (4,576), Madrid (2,391) and Valencia (1,295) in the national listing, which proves just how hard the area has been hit by the construction slump and the massive job losses this has entailed.

Cayetano Rengel, president of the Malaga Property Owners Association, says that the legal process involved in evicting tenants is discriminatory against landlords. "The process usually goes on for more than a year, and landlords find themselves defenceless, as they aren't receiving the rent owed to them, nor can they let the property to other tenants," Rengel points out.

In the majority of the cases which went through court in the province of Malaga last year, the judge found in favour of the claimant (977 cases), while 42 were rejected.

The number of cases which reached court in the province fell almost 14 per cent from 1,173 in 2007 to 1,019 in 2008.

Estate agents often recommend that landlords use an arbitration system that cuts court action costs in case of conflict with tenants. By this system, tenants are obliged to present pay slips or guarantees when they sign a rental contract.