Deposit for rental property

My husband and I are going over to Spain in April to look for a long term rental property. The agent we are using has a website which shows available properties and some are asking for a security deposit + 1 months rent (i.e. 500 Euros per month for a property, they want 500 Euros security deposit + 1 months rent of 500 Euros, so 1000 Euros in total). Others are asking for over 1000 Euros for the security deposit alone (on a 500 Euro per month rental property) plus the first months rent in advance. My query is, is there a law in Spain which states how much a landlord can request upfront for a rental property i.e. first months rent + security deposit equal to the same amount as one months rent? Or can they just pretty much ask for whatever they want?

Hiya, not sure if there is a law as such, I believe you can charge what you want but normally its 1 month for a residential property. Perhaps if it is a very nicely furnished property the landlord may charge 2 months but all my friends have never paid more than 1 month. Also some agents may try to charge you a fee equivalent to 1 months rent for their services. I wouldnt do this as there are so many agents out there that do not do this so you would be wasting money. There are so many properties available to rent so you have the advantage! You just need to take your time and look at as many as possible. I have even heard of some owners being so desperate they are not even charging for a deposit! But normally you would pay the equivalent of 2 months when taking a property so if it was 500 euros a month you would pay 1000 on moving in day, 500 for the deposit and 500 for the first months rent. Hope this helps!

Good afternoon,

According to article 36 of the LAU ( Law of Urban Rentals ), the landlord can request one month's deposit for letting of dwelling rentals and two months deposit for urban rentals of different use as a dwelling, however, the free will of the parties involved is accepted, that is, you can refuse to accept the deal and the landlord can refuse to rent his/her property if you do not come to an agreement.

The normal procedure is that, at least, a one month's deposit is requested, as the landlord will want to protect his/her property against damages; renting is always a risky situation.

Best Regards,

Thanks for the advice, we are heading out to Spain on the 3rd April so will bear all this information in mind!:D