Renting a home in Spain

First: check which contract you are signing

Spanish rental law, the Ley de Arrendamientos Urbanos (LAU, Ley 29/1994), covers the rental of a primary residence — a vivienda habitual, the home you actually live in. The protections in this guide apply to that kind of contract.

Seasonal and short-term contracts, such as an 11-month temporary contract, fall outside these protections. Before you sign, ask which regime your contract is under, and read the contract itself: a contract labelled as temporary when you will in fact live there permanently is a warning sign. If you are unsure, ask a professional before you sign.

How long the contract lasts

The length is freely agreed between landlord and tenant. But if the agreed term is shorter than the legal minimum, the contract extends automatically, year by year, until it reaches that minimum — and the extension is mandatory for the landlord, not for the tenant. The minimum is 5 years when the landlord is a private individual, and 7 years when the landlord is a company.

After the minimum period, if neither side objects, the contract renews tacitly, year by year, for up to 3 more years. So a tenant who stays can in practice remain up to 8 years (5 + 3) or 10 years (7 + 3).

What you pay at signing

This is the part most renters get wrong. For a primary-residence lease, the lawful demands at signing are:

• The first month's rent, paid on signing.
• The fianza: one month's rent in cash, mandatory (LAU art. 36.1). The landlord must deposit it with the regional body of the comunidad autónoma — for example IVIMA in Madrid or INCASÒL in Catalonia. The body differs by region.
• An additional guarantee, if the contract says so and you agreed to it: at most two months' rent (LAU art. 36.5).
• The landlord cannot demand more than one month's rent in advance (LAU art. 17.2).
• In total, the lawful maximum cash at signing is four months: first rent + one month fianza + two months additional guarantee. Anything beyond that is not a lawful demand for a primary-residence lease.

Agency fees: the landlord pays

Since 26 May 2023, the costs of real-estate management and of formalising the contract are the landlord's, not the tenant's (LAU art. 20.1, as amended by the housing law Ley 12/2023 of 24 May 2023). For a primary-residence lease, the tenant's agency fees are €0: the landlord hires the agency, so the landlord pays it.

A clause that makes the tenant pay the agency's fee is void, even if it is written into the contract. This rule covers primary-residence leases only; it does not cover seasonal or short-term rentals, commercial premises, or property sales.

Agencies still try to charge tenants, repackaging the fee as administrative costs or contract-drafting fees. Those are the same costs the law puts on the landlord. Refuse to pay them, and keep every receipt and message if you already paid.

Rent increases

The rent can only be increased if the contract contains an update clause. Without that clause, the rent stays frozen for the whole contract.

Where an update clause exists, the landlord must notify the increase in writing at least one month before it takes effect. For contracts signed from 26 May 2023, the yearly increase is capped at the reference index published by the INE (the Índice de Referencia de Arrendamientos de Vivienda, IRAV), which replaced the IPC as the cap.

Leaving early

After the first six months of the contract, you can leave by giving the landlord at least 30 days' notice. Leaving before six months means breaking the contract.

The contract may set an indemnity for early departure: one month's rent for each year remaining. It only applies if the contract actually says so.

Getting your deposit back

When the contract ends and you return the keys, the landlord has one month to check the state of the home and return the fianza balance. If the landlord keeps it longer without justifying damage or unpaid bills, legal interest accrues in your favour.

Take dated photos of the home on the day you move in and on the day you leave, and keep the key handover in writing. It is your evidence if the return is disputed.

Where to check

BOE consolidated text of the Ley de Arrendamientos Urbanos (Ley 29/1994); Ley 12/2023, de 24 de mayo, por el derecho a la vivienda (BOE); the INE's Índice de Referencia de Arrendamientos de Vivienda (IRAV).

Rules are changing: check the current consolidated LAU text before you sign, and if a paper is missing, a deadline has passed, or anything in this guide does not match your situation, talk to a professional before you sign.