The Spanish rental contract explained
The contrato de arrendamiento is the rental contract that governs your tenancy in Spain. Most of its core terms are set by law, the Ley de Arrendamientos Urbanos (LAU), so even a short written contract gives you stronger protections than it might appear.
Minimum duration
Under Article 9 of the LAU, a tenant has the right to stay for a minimum of five years, or seven years if the landlord is a company or other legal entity, renewing year by year up to that limit even if the written term is shorter. After that minimum, Article 10 adds a tacit extension of up to three more years unless either party gives notice in time.
Rent increases and leaving early
Rent can be reviewed once a year, only if the contract allows it, and is capped by an official index (Article 18 of the LAU). For contracts signed on or after 26 May 2023 for a habitual home, the cap is the Índice de Referencia de Arrendamientos de Vivienda (IRAV) published by the INE. You can also leave: under Article 11, after six months you may end the contract with 30 days written notice, with a penalty only if it was written in.
Clauses to check before signing
- Deposit: one month of fianza plus at most two months of additional guarantee (Article 36).
- Who pays the agency: the landlord, for a habitual residence, since the Ley 12/2023 (Article 20.1).
- Duration and renewal wording, the inventory of furnishings, and which expenses (community fees, IBI, utilities) fall to whom.
Read before you sign
A landlord cannot strip away the LAU minimums with a clause. If a contract contradicts the law, the law usually wins. See the full picture in our tenant rights guide.
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Related
- Renting in Barcelona: your legal rights as a tenant
- Documents you need to rent an apartment in Spain
General information, not legal advice. References are to the Ley de Arrendamientos Urbanos (LAU, Ley 29/1994) and the Ley 12/2023 for the right to housing, as in force in 2026.