Common Misconceptions about Spanish Rental Contracts
November 21st, 2008
Property renting can become a source of conflict between renter and landlord when either party has limited understanding of the law. As we don’t expect everyone to read the Property Rent Act here are a few things both landlords and tenants should know:
- A contract under 12 months is not necessarily of short term duration. Under Spanish law rental contract terms (for accommodation purposes) are to be freely agreed between the parties but if the tenant can prove that this property has become his habitual home (not a too difficult task) he will be entitled to extend the term up to 5 years.
- In the event of non-payment, it is illegal to attempt to kick the tenant out, change the locks, willingly interrupt utility supplies, send thugs, a night-time guitarist or any other person who with the use of unethical threat, coercion, intimidation or even harm attempts to evict the tenant. Whether we like it or not, only a judge can decide on an eviction.
- It is illegal to deduct anything from the monthly rent. Anything means costs incurred in by the tenant in repair works or self-assessed compensation packages for electricity cut offs, noisy neighbours, incorrect information supplied by the landlord or agent when renting etc. Any such claim has to be claimed directly from the landlord initially and further via the Courts, if not in agreement.
Haphazard screening and tenant selection too often results in problems (i.e. a tenant who pays the rent late or not at all, trashes your place or lets undesirable friends move in). It is advisable to check credit history, references and background prior to letting a property out.
For further reading:
Hi there! The best option is to send notice of payment asap, and if there is no payment following receipt of it, then go to Court. The 11 month contract can be extended to 5 years (if the contract was signed under the new law, then 3 years) so I would focus on non-payment.
Eviction can take around 3 months, under new and faster procedural laws.
Thanks for listening!
Hi
Please can you tell me if Ley 29/1994, de 24 de noviembre, de Arrendamientos Urbanos has been superseded at all or if it still applies.
Thankyou
Jane
Hello Jane,
Indeed, the Ley 29/1994 is still fully in force.
Thankyou!
Mr Flores,
I just moved into a house (2months ago), 11 month contract, but we want to move.
Does the new law “Anteprojecto de Ley de Medidas de Flexibilización y Fomento del Mercado de Alquiler de Viviendas” 11 May 2012.
Give us the possibility to move out if I give the landlord 1 months notice?
and should he give me the full deposit back?
thank you in advance,
Greetings,
Martin
Martin,
You are right, the law would allow you to move out with a month’s notice, and get your deposit back. The law you have quoted has not yet been approved as it is that, an “anteproyecto”, but also it will not be retrospectively applied to contracts signed under a different law.
I signed a one year contract with my landlord (in Madrid). I have lived in the property for almost 2 years. I now want to end the contact but the landlord has told me that I can not. I thought that all I had to do was give one month notice. But he says that because the contract renews itself automatically every year, I will be in breach of contract if I decide to end it. He says that I am entitled to end it legally, only the month before the contract renews itself. Is this right?
Thanks
Linda
hi I fell into dispute with my landlord and his agents. subsequently i withheld my rent due to lack of work and the fact that they installed dangerous gas boilers etc. I tried to negotiate with them but they did not wish to talk. I then went to move out, but found that the agent had been circulating my name as a bad risk, so I am currently unable to move house, but don’t know if they have tried to start eviction procedings against me. Do i have any rights? I have again tried to negotiate with the landlord in the UK but they refuse to speak to me. What can i do?
hi antonio
just reading through some of your previous blogs am i right in thinking that if I wish I could extend my contract to a full five year term if I agree to pay the landlord the back rent? Effectively as I mentioned above, I was about to move out due to all the problems which have resulted in this house being not quite what it should have been. But due to the agents and possibly the landlords actions I am unable to move to a different location. However I am looking to move to a completely new area for work in four/six months time – If they are refusing to speak to me and come to an arrangement could I just apply for the extension? The landlady/lord has to my mind not been paying tax as she has always pleaded poverty to the current agents and previous tenants – refusing to spend any money on the property as she just wants to sell it. What is the procedure to apply for the extension? My contract expires at the end of the month. Thank you
You can extend your contract without having to do anything, you just carry on paying your rent as usual.
Hi, The property we rent on a long term basis has been sold by the owner. What happens next? Do we have to vacate the premises? If so, how much notice do we get? Does the notice come from the new owner or the previous owner? Is there any compensation due for the termination of our tenency?
many thanks in advance.
In principle, you are protected by the law. What is surprising however is that the buyer has accepted to close without making prior arrangements with you since you would have the right to extend your contract, by reference to existing provisions in the Tenancy Act, to up to 5 years.
I can say that, in my experience, this disputes tend to be solved by means of payment of a compensation.
Hello Anotnio,
I have taken an 11 month rental on, now 4 months into and the Owner wishes to sell. What are my rights basically? I would prefer to be here without further uncertainty and then move on at the end of the period because the Agent is useless at repairs etc. And is there a legal obligation to return my deposit? Currently I now dont know how long I can stay here.
Thank you.
Hi, we have handed in our notice on our rental house in Asturias. But we are worried about what the Landlord can keep out of the €900 deposit we gave him at the start of the contract. The issue is that the house has always suffered from dampness, and there is a lot of rising/penetrative damp damage particularly in the downstairs parts of the house. There are also a number of cracks that have appeared in the walls and finally the concrete on the driveway has started to break up and there are signs of subsidence on the drive. Will our landlord be able to deduct anything from our deposit due to these faults that have developed in the house but are not our fault?
Many thanks, Tony
Hi Tony,
The landlord should not be deducting anything off the deposit relating to damp etc. though he may well be tempted to do so. Though not envisaged in the law, my suggestion is not to pay the last rental, advising the landlord that she should take it from the deposit. This is regularly done because landlords regularly refuse to return all or part of the deposit under the most bizarre excuses.
B. regards
Jim,
Spanish laws give you a full 5-year term and so, 11-month contracts mean nothing, in spite of popular belief. If the landlord wishes to sell he should give you a neat compensation to make up for the discomfort of moving out, and that is if you choose to.
regards
Hi Antonio,
I have my 11 months contract finished in January this year, now the owner wants me to sign a new 11 months contract without any notice period. My question would be, do I have the right to move out the apartment any time with only one months notice period? (I still haven’t signed the new contract) Thank you, Eva
Hi,
I just signed a 12 month contract for an apartment in Alicante. What are the requirements or steps I need to take if I needed to leave the apartment before the 12 months? I know that the first 6 months are obligatory. How can I leave legally after 6 months? Will I get my deposit back? Do I need to give a month notice before 6 months is up?
Thank you so much!
Julia
Julia,
You are able to leave once you have given 30 days notice, once the first 6 months are up. You are therefore expected to stay at least 6 months so, on the 5th month you should be able to give notice (such is my understanding).
You would therefore be entitled to get your deposit back.
The notice needs to be made by ‘burofax’ or, alternatively, by making the landlord sign a letter.
Best regards
Antonio
Hi Antonio,
I am in the same situation as the previous message and would like to end early a 12 month rental agreement and leave after nine. My landlord is usually quite difficult so in order to clearly show I am in my right if I decide to leave after more than 6 months, which article of Law should I mention to him! He is actually a prosecutor and should know himself really.
Thank you very much.
Jonathan
@Jonathan
Just foolowing up on my previous messages, I think I found the article I asked about but am unsure about the final part of the paragrph which applies in my case:
la previsión de que el arrendatario pueda desistir del contrato en cualquier momento, una vez que hayan transcurrido al menos seis meses y lo comunique al arrendador con una antelación mínima de treinta días. se reconoce la posibilidad de que las partes puedan pactar una indemnización para el caso de desistimiento
What does the part starting with “se reconose…”? My rental agreement stipulates that if I leave before 12 months, I need to pay the remainder, is this the “indemnización” mentionned?
Thanks again.
Jonathan
Dear Antonio,
I recently took on an 11 month rental apartment in Malaga – a British owner via a Spanish agent. 4 weeks into the rental I realized that the electricity supply was set very low and not suitable for a ‘normal usage’ – electricity supply would crash when certain appliance combinations were used together. I reported this issue and it took 6 weeks to rectify… however – during this time I decided the apartment as not ‘fit-for-purpose’ and began making arrangements to find a new home. Now that I have left the apartment the owner and agent are ignoring all my efforts to communicate and ignoring my request for information about my 2 months deposit. What are the laws relating to this kind of situation?
Many thanks,
Marcus.
Dear Antonio,
We rented a house in Andalucia almost 2 years ago. They let us sign a 11-months contract, and told me this was not a short term contract. We never renewed this contract after december 2013 but made a verbal agreement with the owner, and we kept paying rent since then and it is our primary and only house and we have 2 small children. Now we found out that the owner has not been paying her mortgage for 4 years and the bank repossessed the house. We have to appear in court in a few months. What are our changes that we can stay living here, we even want to buy the house ourselves if given the opportunity.
Many thanks,
Ana
How can I get a tenant out who is refusing to pay rent. They are in arrears by a few months now and have no intention of paying.. I want my home back..
I have an 11 month tenancy which should expire on 1 April 2016. I experience very bad service from my landlord with regard to repairs, resolving problems etc. the property which is in Alicante, belongs to an English couple who do not reside in Spain and do not have anybody to manage the property. It takes a lot of time and effort to get anything done. I have spent over €500 making the property liveable. I have not asked the landlord for a refund of these monies that I have spent. I now wish to leave the property on 5th September 2015. I have given 2 months notice and agreed that the landlord can keep the deposit I paid and that this would be an end to the matter. Is this acceptable under Spanish law or can the landlord require me to pay the remains rentals owed? Thank you
Beryl,
The new law states that after 6 months into a rental contract, you can rescind it by giving 30 days notice. Although your offer does not comply with the law “strictu sensu”, it appears to me to be reasonable and thus, I would not think the landlord would have an issue with it.
Hi
I am a landlord and my tenants moved into my property in October 2012. This was on a 11 month contract which has been renewed every 11 months since then, so they have been in the property for 3 years. I now want the property back, can I do this?
Jill,
The Tenancy Act as amended entered into force on the 5th of June 2013. Your contract is prior to this date which therefore makes it a 5-year contract, should the tenant wish to extend it.
The only opt out clause is one that should have been mentioned in the contract whereby you reserve the right to return to the property for your own use, or that of family members.
If this clause is not in the contract, the tenant would have the right to stay in until the full 5 years have elapsed (provided he/she pays the rentals that is!).
Thanks for reply Antonio. I read in an article dated 15th May 2012 that the law had changed from 5 year rule to 3 year, therefore does this not cover my contract?
Jill,
If you contract was prior to June 2013 then the old law applies.
HI Antonio, I’m not sure if you can help with this. When we initially agreed to take the property and paid our deposit holding fee we were told by the agency that we were allowed pets and we trusted them so didn’t get the contract translated. The owners have now found out that we have pets and don’t want them and now the agency is claiming breach of contract because there is a clause in the lease that no animals are allowed. Obviously they are denying that they ever told us we could have pets. Can they evict us on these grounds and if so how long would it take in the courts? Also our contract is only stamped by the agency not signed by the landlord.
Hello,
If you had a agreed to have not pets in the apartment and subsequently they are living in the apartment, this could constitute a breach of contract that could be enforceable through the Courts. For this to happen, the landlord needs proof that you have pets and will also need to convince a Court that this is the case. An eviction procedure may take up to 4 months.
The mere fact that the contract is only stamped by the real estate agency does not mean much as signed contract is with the agency, who will pass it on (if not already) to the landlord.
In my opinion, so long as rent payment is regular the landlord may choose to leave things are they are.
Hello,
I have signed a twelve month contract but want to get out of it as I cannot settle in the apartment in Albir, Spain. The Contract started on the 1st November we have pain rent on it until the end of February. We are in England at the moment and are going back to the apartment at the beginning of March 2016 and will give two months notice vacating at the end of April, we will, of course, pay the rent up to the end of April. Can we do this. Thank you.
Ann: In principle, you are able to rescind the contract once 6 months have passed on contracts signed after the 6th June 2013. If you do not wait, you will have to compensate the owner with the equivalent to one month per year of contract.
Regarding notice, the law establishes 30 days.
If the landlord gives you 30 notice for breach of contract, does it have to be in writing. Also is there a similar bond protection service here like there is in the UK ? I get the impression he is not planning on returning my bond either. He says the place needs cleaning but I spend 2 days cleaning it thoroughly…it was spotless and have photos to prove it too.
Hi Antonio,
If there are three people on the rental contract and only one person wants to terminate the contract at 6 months is this possible?
Chelsea, joint tenants that go into a contract require joint consent to validly terminate a contract. This means that all three should be in agreement to do so for the termination to be valid.
Hi,
A friend and I rented a house in July 2016 and I have now lost my job.
I advised the landlord the 31st of December 2016, that we might be forced to move to Malaga in the end of January 2017, unless I don`t find a work in Barcelona in this week.
I already have a work on the hand in Malaga for me and my friend (room mate)
First 3 month, we had no gas for warm water, or heating due to a dispute landlord had with are tenant from before.
We paid 2 month deposit and in contract which is not stamped (if that matters) we have 2 month notice if we want to leave.
Rent and utilities all is always paid as well as January month rent.
Landlord now say that she checked the gas meter and we need to pay the gas (it is in her name) before we can get deposit back, she refuse to take the money from the deposit, since she claim that is not legal.
House and plot is in better condition than when we moved in, due to much cleaning and fixing up the garden and surroundings, no damages has been done to the property after we moved in.
Also, we where told that we could not ask for the deduction from something named “de la renta” since she then have to pay higher tax.
We have all the receipts of payed rent, but landlord always want to make the payment in person, since it should not be seen on her bank account, for the tax thing I guess.
I told the landlord that if she force us to stay, since she say there is two month notice in the contract, we will in a few month, not be able to pay the rent and that will be bad for both of us.
Can you please advice us how to proceed, since I really want to accept the work in Malaga, since I have no other offers and would like not to live with paro.
Regards and happy new year,
Chris
Hi Antonio
We have been living for five years with the first two years on a 11 month contract, then we recieved a 3 year contract which we had to resign every year, the contract expires 11,2018 and the owners wish to sell. the father has passed away the the children wish to sell. we do not want to leave as we see this as our home and have lived here for 4.5 years, paid all of the bills and rent
thank you
Hi there
I have rented a property through an agent in Spain for 6 months starting from 1st September, I have given a one month deposit until we move in. My issue is that I have signed the contract but the owner has not. I am worried because this happened before and at the last moment the owner pulled out and I had to find accommodation at the last minute. I do not want this to happen again. Is there a set time that the owner has to sign the contract after I have i.e. 4 weeks? and if they do not sign in that time can i legally pull out and get my deposit back?
The apartment above me has been rented out for some time by the Spanish owner.
The new tenants bought a puppy for Xmas 2018, which is now a huge dog and barks vociferously day & night, plus at night the tenants play with the dog until abt 3am meaning I have no proper sleep. I have complained to the President & Vice President who are both Spanish and the tenants are Mexican, but although I presented a petition signed by many owners abt the loud barking, nothing has been done. I am at my wits end—please help !
Hi Antonio,
I have rented an apartment on an 11 month lease but now have to move after 2 months due to travel to work and the state of the accomodation. Bugs, open sewers, mosquito marsh, no air con during the summer and had no fridge or washing machine for the first week. Now, the rental agent is saying that because I haven’t lived here for 6 months, I may be taken to court?! Nothing in the contract about this, just that if I end the contract early, I lose the deposit. Any advice??
Thanks
Laura
Hi
We moved into new house on 16th May
As we were just out of lockdown the owner agreed to reduced rent and we didn’t have to pay a deposit
This was verbally agreed until August where if things had returned to normality then we would pay full rent .
, unfortunately that didn’t happen
In Spain things have got worse but we will be able to pay full rent in October
But we never signed a contract ,we agreed that when we were paying full rent we would then sign a lease .our mistake
The verbal agreement was for 2 plus years before rent was reviewed again . But now they want to sell . Saying they are giving us a 3 month contract to find somewhere new
Is a 3 month contract even legal ?
How long can we stay here for before be legally evicted ?
Hi Antonio,
We signed a rental agreement May 2018 for 3 years through a large agency Alquilovers, the property and many others where we live are owned by a company Casupo Investments.
The contract end is here and they will not extend, they are offering to allow us to purchase, but after some back and forth on the price they have now said we can extend for another 6 months.
Which tenancy law covers this, should we be able to stay for 7 years, or can they force us out.
Many thanks
Victoria
Hi Antonio,
we rented a home in Malaga for 12 months and the lease will end automatically on July 31st.
In March of this year, we discussed with the landlord to stay another year and the landlord sent us a new contract with the starting date of August 1st.
Then some family issues came up and we decided not to sign the new contract because we will have to move back to Madrid. We send the landlord an email about our decision, but he never answered or acknowledged it.
Now, even though we never signed the new rental agreement, the landlord says we still have a new contract starting August 1st because thru our emails we showed intention to rent his house for another year even though we never signed the new contract.
Is it true that we now are bound to a new rental agreement even though we never signed it?
Thank you Antonio!!
Thank you!!