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The law doesn't stand still

Spanish rental law is changing at speed — and the sector is under fire

Letting is Spain's political battleground of the moment: rent regulation, registration duties, regional decrees — and courts then striking parts of them down again. In the last eighteen months alone:

A free template from last year is therefore not “slightly dated” — it can simply be wrong on essential points. That is why every contract we issue carries a reference date, and why we process changes as soon as they appear in the BOE.

Why you don't get this from a group

What you hear from the neighbour, and what the law actually says

Letting in Spain is mostly passed on by word of mouth: in Facebook groups, on the terrace, from the previous owner. Usually well meant, often years out of date, and sometimes exactly backwards. Below are the seven claims that circulate most — each with its source, so you can check it yourself.

Most sources on Spanish rental law are not current

AI assistants and free template contracts — including those from big, familiar names — draw on whatever appears most often on the internet, rarely on the current state of the law. They miss mandatory clauses, apply lapsed obligations and lag behind regional changes. The document looks professional, but legally it fails on precisely the points that matter.

That is why every claim on this site carries its source and its reference date.

Seven persistent stories, next to the statute. Reference date 30 July 2026.
What you hearWhat the law actually saysSource
“Put 11 months in the contract and you're safe.” The law looks at the purpose of the stay, not its length. Without a demonstrable temporary reason, the court reclassifies to an ordinary residential tenancy — with five years of mandatory extension, seven if you let through a company. LAU art. 2 and 3.2
“You just keep the deposit yourself.” That depends entirely on your region, and this is exactly where generic advice goes wrong. Must be lodged: Valencia within one month (fine €600–3,000), Catalonia within two months with INCASÒL, Madrid within 30 days, the Canaries within one month, and the Balearics with IBAVI. No longer: Murcia abolished it in May 2021, Andalucía on 24 January 2026. Decreto 46/2022 · Ley 13/1996 · Decreto 181/1996 · Ley 2/2014 · Ley 5/2018 · Ley 5/2025 · Decreto-ley 1/2021
“For a short seasonal contract you only lodge part of the deposit.” Only Catalonia, Galicia and the Basque Country have a pro-rata rule like that. In Valencia, Madrid, the Canaries and the Balearics you lodge the full two months' rent, even on a three-month let. On €600 rent that is €1,200 in Valencia against €300 in Catalonia — for exactly the same contract. Llei 13/1996 art. 3.2 · Decreto 46/2022 art. 1
“A rent cap is coming, I need to act fast.” A cap only applies in designated municipalities, and there are 317 of them in five regions. On the Costa Blanca, in Murcia, the Balearics, Andalucía, Madrid and the Canary Islands there is no cap. The Comunitat Valenciana expressly refuses to declare zones. Ley 12/2023 · BOE 29-07-2026
“Seasonal lets never fall under rent regulation.” In Catalonia they do, since 1 January 2026. There you must also substantiate the temporary purpose with documents and lodge those together with the deposit at INCASÒL. Without that evidence, your contract counts as a permanent residential tenancy by operation of law. Llei 11/2025 (Catalonia)
“21% VAT on rentals is coming.” That is a proposal, and on 27 July 2026 it was postponed for lack of a majority. An earlier rental decree was even voted down by Congress in April. What applies today: exempt without hotel-style services, 10% with them, 21% when letting to an operating company. LIVA art. 20.Uno.23
“A free template off the internet is fine.” Nearly every free template is a contrato de arrendamiento de vivienda under art. 2 LAU — precisely the contract you do nót want for a seasonal let. People type “11 months” into it and assume that makes it temporary. see row 1

That is exactly what you are buying here: not a file, but the certainty that the right contract type sits underneath it, that the mandatory amounts are correct, and that your region's rules are in it. With the articles alongside, so you can show it to your gestoría or to your tenant.

See the packages First work out which contract I need
The most common mistake

An 11-month contract does not make it a temporary let

The advice doing the rounds is simple: put 11 months in the contract and your tenant gets no housing protection. That is not how a Spanish judge looks at it.

The LAU distinguishes on purpose, not duration. A valid seasonal let under art. 3.2 LAU requires a causa objetiva y transitoria: an objective, temporary reason why this tenant needs the property for precisely that period. An academic year, a work posting, a winter stay with a main home kept elsewhere. Art. 3.2 covers seasonal lets expressly “sea ésta de verano o cualquier otra” — whether it is the summer season or any other.

Without that reason, the court reclassifies to an ordinary residential tenancy under art. 2 LAU — and you are bound to the statutory extension of five years, or seven where the landlord is a company. Judges look at things most owners never think of as evidence: the tenant putting the utilities in their own name, a renewal option in the contract, rent paid by the month with no day-count adjustment, or a right-of-first-refusal clause that only belongs in a residential tenancy.

The three regimes the LAU distinguishes
AspectArt. 2 — residentialArt. 3.2 — temporadaArt. 5 — tourist
PurposeA fixed, permanent homeTemporary stay with a demonstrable motiveHolidays, short stays
Mandatory extensionYes, 5 years (7 for a company)No, ends on the agreed dateNot applicable
Deposit (art. 36.1 LAU)1 month, mandatory2 months, mandatoryNot governed by the LAU
Tourist licenceNot requiredNot requiredMandatory, per region
Applicable lawLAU in fullLAU art. 3 + civil lawOutside the LAU, regional tourism law

Source: Ley 29/1994 (LAU), consolidated text on the BOE.

The other side

And letting long-term? Less scary than you think — and often the best choice

Many owners nervously stack short contracts because they fear one thing: never getting back in. But the fear of residential tenancies almost always stems from contracts where the protective clauses were missing — not from the law itself.

Choose long-term deliberately and you get a lot in return: fixed rent, twelve months a year, no changeover stress, no empty winter months, no tourist licence and none of the reclassification uncertainty of an engineered seasonal contract. One tenant who pays properly is often more profitable — and always calmer — than ten changeovers a year.

The condition is a contract that is right from day one. The reservation allowing you to reclaim the property after the first year — for yourself, first-degree family or your ex-spouse after divorce (art. 9.3 LAU, private landlords only) — must be in the contract at signing: it cannot be added afterwards, and it is precisely the clause nearly every free template lacks. Our generator includes it as standard, together with the deposit and your region's lodging rules.

The free check first
Guides

Want to read up first? Start here

The same legislation that powers the generator, written out — with sources and a reference date on every guide.

Spanish rental contract on a table with a pen and house keys

The Spanish rental contract: what it must contain in 2026

The checklist to test any free template against — with the statute behind every requirement.

Read the guide
Couple on a terrace on the Spanish coast

The deposit by region: amounts, bodies and deadlines

One month or two, where to lodge it and the fines for forgetting — region by region.

Read the guide
Arriving at a Spanish home

The 11-month myth that can cost you your house

Why duration decides nothing, what the court actually looks at and how to record it properly.

Read the guide