How do rental contracts and deposits work in Spain in 2026?

For a habitual-home lease, the tenant can normally continue until five years when the landlord is an individual or seven years when the landlord is a legal entity. A paper labelled one year does not automatically remove that statutory extension.

The contract should identify the parties, property, habitual-home purpose, rent, payment date, deposit, additional guarantee, update clause, expenses, repairs, inventory, and notice.

Seasonal contracts need a genuine temporary reason, such as a fixed study or work stay and a permanent home elsewhere. A landlord should not use temporada merely to avoid LAU home protections.

The legal fianza for a habitual home is one month's rent. During the protected five or seven-year period, the landlord can agree up to two additional months of guarantee through cash, an aval bancario, or another form.

That means one month of legal fianza plus no more than two months of extra guarantee under the LAU rule for the initial protected term. Advance rent and the first month's rent should be shown separately rather than mislabelled as deposit.

The landlord usually must lodge the legal fianza with the housing body of the autonomous community. The office differs: INCASÒL in Catalonia and the regional housing service in Madrid are two examples.

Ask for proof of lodging. At the end, document key return, meter readings, inventory, cleaning, and damage. If the fianza is not returned within one month after the keys are delivered, statutory interest can begin to accrue.

Normal wear should not be charged as damage. Use a signed inventory and dated photographs from move-in.

For a habitual-home lease, real-estate management and contract formalisation costs are charged to the landlord under the current LAU wording.

A tenant can normally withdraw after six months with at least 30 days' notice. The contract may include proportional compensation based on the remaining term, so read the exit clause.

Rent updates, expense clauses, stressed-market rules, and regional requirements can change. Use the current BOE text for the contract date.