The Union of Associations of Self-Employed Workers and Entrepreneurs (Uatae) warned this Thursday about the "double rent" that thousands of self-employed workers bear, forced to assume at the same time the increase in the cost of housing and commercial premises. This burden, which the organization considers "hardly sustainable," becomes especially intense in large cities and in those areas where prices have experienced the largest spikes.
In this context, the organization has demanded that both problems be addressed "jointly," as they are usually analyzed separately, insisting that, for a self-employed person with a business on the street, the rental expense is not limited to their home: each month they must also face the lease of the space where they carry out their activity.
"You can sell more, work more hours, or try to cut costs, but there are fixed costs that have reached a level that a small business simply cannot compensate," stated the general secretary of Uatae, María José Landaburu.
As the organization has emphasized, this reality hits particularly hard on retail, hospitality, hair salons, workshops, and multiple proximity services, as these are activities that depend on a physical location and cannot be moved to a home or operate solely through the internet.
At the same time, Uatae has pointed out that the rising costs of premises are transforming the commercial fabric of many neighborhoods, favoring the gradual replacement of small businesses by operators with greater financial muscle, establishments linked to large chains, or premises that remain closed waiting for tenants capable of assuming higher rents.
"When a bookstore, a hardware store, a fruit shop, or a bar that has been around forever disappears because it cannot pay the rent, we are not just talking about the closure of a business," Landaburu has argued, who has emphasized that "we are also changing the neighborhood and recovering that fabric afterward is extraordinarily difficult."
Protection proposals for new self-employed workers
In this scenario, the organization considers "especially concerning" the impact on those who wish to start a business, as the initial investment is added to deposits, guarantees, renovation works, and rents that turn access to a premises into the first major barrier even before raising the shutter. Therefore, Uatae has urged to "open the debate" on this market and analyze specific measures.
Among the proposed measures are policies that encourage the entry into the market of vacant premises at affordable prices, public or municipal mediation systems, aid linked to the maintenance of activities considered essential for the life of neighborhoods, and a greater utilization of the stock of publicly owned premises.
Finally, Uatae has demanded that housing policies incorporate the reality of self-employed workers, whose incomes can fluctuate significantly from month to month and who, despite having viable businesses, face additional hurdles to demonstrate solvency and access a rental.
"We are talking a lot about who can afford to live in our cities, but we also need to start asking who can afford to work in them," concluded Landaburu.