Renting out your property in Spain from abroad: 2026 guide

You can let a property in Spain long term while living in another country. Spanish law fixes most of the terms for you: a lease of at least five years when the landlord is an individual, a deposit of one month's rent, agency fees paid by the landlord and rent paid monthly by electronic means. In the Valencia region the deposit must be lodged with the Generalitat within a month of signing. As a non-resident, you then declare the rent on modelo 210. You still need someone on the ground to show the flat, check the tenant in and out, lodge the deposit and answer repair requests quickly.

This guide covers the long-term letting of a home you already own, as the rules stood on 26 October 2026. Several of them were changed by decree in October 2026: those changes are in force but awaiting validation, and we flag each one.

Long-term, temporary or holiday: decide first

• Long-term let: the flat becomes the tenant's main home. The Urban Leases Act (LAU) applies in full, with a minimum term and a capped annual update. Alveo Rent only handles this type of let.
• Temporary let: for a tenant temporarily away from their usual home for a justified, provable reason. Since 8 October 2026 such a lease must state that reason and last more than 31 days and, as a rule, no more than twelve months. Without a stated reason, it is treated as a long-term lease from the start (Royal Decree-law 29/2026, in force, awaiting validation).
• Holiday let: short stays governed by regional tourism law. In the Valencia region this is a separate regime, which requires a favourable municipal planning report and registration in the regional tourism register. Our group's guide to the tourist rental licence in Spain explains it.

Before you advertise: the documents

• Energy performance certificate: compulsory to let to a new tenant. An accredited technician issues it after visiting the flat, and it only has legal value once registered with the regional authority. The energy label must appear in every advert, a copy is attached to the lease and the tenant receives the user recommendations. It is valid for ten years, five for a G rating.
• Occupancy title: each region has its own rules on habitability documents. In the Valencia region, signing a new water, gas or electricity contract requires a valid occupancy title, a licence or a responsible declaration, when the first one is more than ten years old or the property never had one. If the tenant is to take the utility contracts in their own name, check this before you advertise.
• Title deed, NIE and latest IBI bill, to identify you and the property.
• The annual amount of the community fees, if you want the tenant to pay them: the lease has to state it.
• Enough sets of keys, and a dated inventory with photos for the check-in.

The lease: what the LAU fixes for you

Duration and exit

• Minimum term: five years, or seven if the landlord is a company. A shorter lease is extended year by year up to that minimum, unless the tenant gives 30 days' notice before an anniversary.
• Early exit: the tenant can leave after six months with 30 days' notice. Since 8 October 2026 the lease can no longer make the tenant pay compensation in that case (awaiting validation). Before, it could provide for one month's rent per remaining year.
• Taking the flat back for your own use: possible after the first year only if the lease says so from the start, for you, a first-degree relative or a spouse after a divorce, with two months' notice. If you might come back to live in Spain, include it.
• After five years: unless you give notice at least four months ahead, or the tenant two months ahead, the lease continues year by year for up to three more years. From 15 November 2026, Royal Decree-law 28/2026 (awaiting validation) would replace this with renewals of five years, six months' notice for the landlord and, in many cases, compensation for the tenant.

Rent and annual update

• The rent is set freely. No area of the Valencia region appears in the official lists of stressed rental markets published to date, so the caps on new rents that apply in parts of Catalonia, for example, do not apply in Valencia or Alicante.
• Payment: monthly, within the first seven days, by electronic means. You cannot ask for more than one month in advance.
• Annual update: only if the lease provides for it, notified in writing and applicable from the following month. For leases signed since 26 May 2023 it is capped by the INE's reference index for rental updates (IRAV). Updates falling due before the end of 2027 are limited to 2% unless the parties agree a new figure, and ruled out if the rent exceeds the ceiling of the state rental price index (awaiting validation).

Costs and repairs

• Agency fees for letting the flat and drafting the lease are paid by the landlord (Housing Act 12/2023).
• Community fees can be passed on to the tenant only if the lease says so in writing and states their annual amount. Since 8 October 2026, taxes such as IBI can no longer be charged to the tenant (awaiting validation).
• Utilities measured by individual meters are paid by the tenant.
• Repairs needed to keep the flat habitable are yours; small repairs caused by everyday wear are the tenant's. Since 8 October 2026 a tenant can send you a written repair request with a quote: you then have fifteen calendar days to accept it, propose another repair or carry it out. If you do not, the tenant can have the work done and deduct its cost from future rent (awaiting validation).

Deposit and guarantees in the Valencia region

• The deposit equals one month's rent and is compulsory.
• You lodge it with the Generalitat Valenciana within one month of signing the lease. Online, you pay by card; in person, in cash at a partner bank. A tenant who only has a passport can be registered through the online procedure.
• Lodging it late adds a surcharge on the deposit: 5% up to three months late, then 10%, 15%, and 20% beyond twelve months. If the administration finds the omission first, the surcharge is 20% plus interest.
• You can ask for an extra guarantee, such as a bank guarantee, of up to two months' rent for a lease of up to five years (seven with a company landlord).
• Rent guarantee insurance: you can take it out for yourself. Since 8 October 2026 the tenant can no longer be required to take one out (awaiting validation).
• At the end of the lease, a deposit returned more than a month after the keys are handed back earns interest at the legal rate.

Bank account, tax and insurance

• NIE: your foreigner's identity number is also your Spanish tax number.
• Bank account: the law requires rent to be paid by electronic means. It does not require a Spanish account, so an account abroad can receive the transfers.
• Tax: you declare the rent on modelo 210, at 19% after expenses if you live in the EU, Iceland, Norway or Liechtenstein, and at 24% on the gross rent anywhere else. From October 2026 the rent is declared once a year, in April. Details in our article on modelo 210 for non-resident landlords. Your country of residence may tax the income too; its tax treaty with Spain prevents double taxation.
• IBI: payable by whoever owns the property on 1 January, so by you.
• Insurance: home insurance for the building and your liability as landlord. For EU residents, the premiums are deductible from the rent.

What needs someone on the ground

You can sign the agency agreement and the lease remotely, and the rent arrives by transfer. Some tasks still need a person at the flat, and several now come with legal deadlines.

• Viewings and tenant checks: identity, income and employment of each applicant.
• Check-in: keys, meter readings and the inventory with photos.
• Deposit: lodged with the Generalitat within a month.
• Repairs: a written request with a quote starts the fifteen-day clock described above.
• Check-out: since 8 October 2026 the end of the lease must be recorded in a document signed by both parties. If none is signed, or if it notes no damage, the flat is presumed to have been returned in good condition (awaiting validation). Someone has to be there on the day, with the check-in inventory in hand.

You can organise this yourself with a trusted local contact, or hand it to an agency. At Alveo Rent, tenant find costs one month's rent excl. VAT, paid once when the lease is signed. Full management costs 8% excl. VAT of the rent collected, with no minimum term and nothing to pay while the flat is empty; Spanish VAT at 21% is added to both. Our method sets out each step and who does what, and our pricing lists what each plan includes. For the full set of rules, get our letting guide.

Your first let, step by step

1. Confirm that a long-term let suits your plans for the property.
2. Obtain and register the energy certificate, and check the occupancy title if the utility contracts will change hands.
3. Set a rent in line with local lettings, then advertise with the energy label.
4. Check the applicants and choose the tenant.
5. Sign a lease that complies with the LAU, with the own-use clause if you might return.
6. Collect the deposit and lodge it with the Generalitat within a month.
7. Hand over the keys after a dated inventory with photos.
8. Keep track of rent, repairs and the date of the annual update.
9. Declare the rent on modelo 210 each April, and any empty period as imputed income.

To start with a realistic figure for your flat, estimate your rent.