Rental contract in Spain: the clauses that protect landlords

A Spanish residential tenancy agreement protects the landlord when it deals properly with what the law leaves open: taking the property back for your own use, the annual rent review, service charges, guarantees, and the condition of the flat at check-in and check-out. Everything else is set by the Urban Leases Act (Ley de Arrendamientos Urbanos, LAU), and its article 6 voids any clause that leaves the tenant worse off than the Act provides.

If you are used to six- or twelve-month lets, expect a different framework. Two royal decree-laws changed several rules in October 2026: Royal Decree-law 29/2026, in force since 8 October, and Royal Decree-law 28/2026, which changes renewals from 15 November. Both are still awaiting parliamentary validation, so for each point we also give the earlier rule. What follows reflects the law as it stood on 26 October 2026.

What the agreement must contain

Either party can insist on a written agreement. It then sets out who the parties are, the property, the term, the initial rent and any other clauses agreed (article 37). It is worth adding:

• a copy of the energy efficiency label, which must be attached to the agreement, and the "recommendations for use" document handed to the tenant (article 17.2 of Royal Decree 390/2021);
• the bank account for the rent, since rent is paid electronically save in exceptional cases (article 17.3);
• an email address for formal notices, valid if it guarantees the authenticity of the message and leaves a record of sending and receipt (article 4.6). For a landlord living in the UK or Ireland, this makes every notice simpler;
• the names of everyone who will live in the flat, as the Spanish housing ministry's guide recommends, to avoid disputes about subletting;
• an inventory of the furniture and a check-in report with photographs, signed by both parties.

Term, renewals and early exit

The term is free, but if it is shorter than five years (seven if the landlord is a company), the tenancy renews every year until it reaches that minimum, unless the tenant gives thirty days' notice (article 9.1). A "one-year" agreement signed by a private landlord can run for five years if the tenant wishes.

The landlord's need clause is the only way to take the property back within those five years, and it must be written into the agreement at signing. If you are an individual, after the first year you can recover the flat for yourself, your parents or your children, or your spouse after a separation, divorce or annulment judgment, with two months' notice. If nobody moves in within three months, the tenant can choose to return or claim compensation (article 9.3).

Once the minimum term has passed, if neither side gives notice (you four months ahead, the tenant two), the tenancy renews year by year for up to three more years (article 10.1). Royal Decree-law 28/2026 changes this from 15 November 2026 if it is validated: tacit renewals of five years (seven for companies), six months' notice from the landlord and, if you do not renew, compensation for the tenant, with exceptions such as needing the property for yourself or a relative up to the second degree.

The tenant can leave after six months with thirty days' notice (article 11). Before Royal Decree-law 29/2026, the parties could agree a payment of one month's rent for each year left to run. The decree now states that leaving early gives the landlord no right to compensation: in agreements signed from 8 October 2026, that clause cannot be enforced while the decree stands.

Rent, payment and annual review

The rent is agreed freely (article 17.1). On 26 October 2026, the ministry's list of high-pressure rental areas (zonas tensionadas) included none in the Valencia region, so the caps on initial rent in article 17.6 and 17.7 do not apply in Valencia or Alicante. Unless agreed otherwise, rent is paid monthly within the first seven days, and no more than one month can ever be demanded in advance (article 17.2).

Rent can only be reviewed if the agreement expressly says so, once a year, and the increase cannot exceed the IRAV, the rent review index published by Spain's national statistics office, INE (article 18.1). Name the index in the clause. The review is notified in writing, stating the percentage, and applies from the following month (article 18.2).

Until 31 December 2027, Royal Decree-law 29/2026 adds a further limit: without a new agreement with the tenant, the increase cannot exceed 2%, and there is no increase at all if the rent is above the value given by the state rent reference index system (final provision six). For reference, the IRAV for September 2026, published by INE on 14 October, was 2.54%.

Service charges, local taxes and agency fees

General building costs, such as community charges, can be passed on to the tenant if this is agreed in writing with the annual amount at the date of the agreement. During the first five years, that amount can only rise once a year and by no more than twice the rent increase (article 20.1 and 20.3). Utilities with an individual meter are always paid by the tenant (article 20.4).

The rule on taxes has changed. Before Royal Decree-law 29/2026, the agreement could make the tenant pay the IBI, the annual property tax, as part of those charges. The decree forbids it: taxes on the property cannot be imposed on the tenant unless the tenant is the person legally liable for them. In a new agreement, plan to pay the IBI yourself.

Letting agency and contract fees have been payable by the landlord since Law 12/2023. Royal Decree-law 29/2026 specifies that this covers any service to prepare, sign, manage, amend or renew the tenancy, and bans passing such fees on to the tenant, directly or indirectly (article 20.2).

Deposit, guarantees and rent default insurance

The deposit (fianza) is one month's rent in cash (article 36.1). In the Valencia region it must be lodged with the regional government (Generalitat) within one month of signing; if it is late, a surcharge of 5% to 20% of the deposit applies, depending on the delay. At the end of the tenancy, if you take more than a month to return it, it earns statutory interest (article 36.4).

You can agree an additional guarantee, such as a bank guarantee, of up to two months' rent for tenancies of up to five years, or seven if the landlord is a company (article 36.5). Since Royal Decree-law 29/2026, the tenant cannot be required to take out rent default insurance or similar cover: if you want it, you take it out yourself.

The same decree adds an end-of-tenancy document, signed by both parties, recording the condition of the flat on handover. If none is signed, or if it notes no damage, the flat is presumed to have been returned in good condition (article 36.7). Without a check-in report with photographs to compare against, keeping back part of the deposit will be hard to justify.

Repairs, sale and subletting

Repairs needed to keep the flat habitable fall to the landlord, and small repairs caused by ordinary wear fall to the tenant (article 21). Under Royal Decree-law 29/2026, if the tenant asks in writing for a necessary repair and attaches a quote, you have fifteen calendar days to accept it, propose another solution or carry out the work; if you do not answer, or refuse without good reason, the tenant can have the work done and deduct the cost from future rent (article 21.5). If you live abroad, this deadline is a good reason to have someone answer on your behalf.

The tenant needs your written consent to carry out works that change the layout of the flat (article 23), and to assign the tenancy or sublet, which can only ever be partial (article 8).

If you sell the let property, the buyer takes over the tenancy for the first five years (article 14). The tenant has a right of first refusal for thirty calendar days from your formal notice of the decision to sell, the price and the terms, and a right to buy the property back from the purchaser if that notice is not given (article 25). The parties used to be able to agree that the tenant waived these rights; Royal Decree-law 29/2026 forbids it.

Clauses the law treats as void

Article 6 LAU makes void, as if never written, any clause that alters the residential tenancy rules to the tenant's detriment, unless the Act itself allows it. The rest of the agreement stays valid; only the clause falls away. Some examples:

Clause	What the law says	LAU article
The tenancy ends after one year, with no renewal	Annual renewals up to five years (seven) apply anyway	9.1
Several months' rent paid in advance	No more than one month can be demanded	17.2
Annual increase above the IRAV	The IRAV is the ceiling	18.1
Agency fees paid by the tenant	Always paid by the landlord	20.2
Additional guarantee above two months on a tenancy of up to five years	Capped at two months' rent	36.5
IBI or other property taxes paid by the tenant	Banned since 8 October 2026 (Royal Decree-law 29/2026)	20.1
Tenant required to take out rent default insurance	Banned since 8 October 2026 (Royal Decree-law 29/2026)	36.5
Payment if the tenant leaves early	No effect in agreements signed from 8 October 2026 (Royal Decree-law 29/2026)	11.3
Waiver of the tenant's right of first refusal	Cannot be agreed since 8 October 2026 (Royal Decree-law 29/2026)	25.8
"Seasonal" or "11-month" contract with no genuine temporary reason	Treated as a long-term residential tenancy from signing (Royal Decree-law 29/2026)	7.2 and 9 bis

The last line matters to owners who used short contracts to keep their options open. Under Royal Decree-law 29/2026, a temporary letting must state a real, provable reason for the tenant's temporary stay, lasts more than 31 days and, as a rule, no more than twelve months. Without that reason, it is treated from day one as a residential tenancy with the five-year minimum.

The ministry's model and professional review

Spain's housing ministry publishes an indicative model agreement on its website, with a guide giving example clauses, in a version dated May 2025. It is a sound starting point, but it predates the October 2026 decrees, and three of its clauses clash with the wording in force since 8 October: the payment for early exit, taxes included in the service charges, and the option for the tenant to pay for rent insurance as an additional guarantee. It does not include the end-of-tenancy document either.

That is why we do not publish a downloadable template: a tenancy agreement depends on the property, the tenant and the signing date, and the rules have changed several times this year. Have it drafted or checked by a professional. At Alveo Rent, an agreement that complies with the LAU is part of both our letting and our full management services, as our pricing page shows.

If a tenant ever stops paying, the agreement will be your first piece of evidence: see what to do when a tenant is not paying rent in Spain. And if you are about to let your property, you can get a rental estimate by answering a few questions.