Yes — a foreigner can rent a home in Spain by signing the lease with just a valid passport; an NIE is not legally required to sign the contract. The security deposit a landlord may demand is fixed by law at one month's rent (the fianza). Any additional guarantee is capped at two further months on a home lease of up to five years (seven if the landlord is a company); a longer one has no such cap. On a temporary housing lease signed from 8 October 2026 the cap is one month (Ley de Arrendamientos Urbanos, art. 36, in force 2026). A standard home lease runs for a minimum of five years — seven if the landlord is a company — and the landlord, not the tenant, pays the estate-agency fee. This guide to renting an apartment in Spain as a foreigner was updated 26 October 2026 for Real Decreto-ley 29/2026, in force from 8 October 2026.
Can a foreigner rent in Spain with just a passport?
A foreigner can legally sign a Spanish rental contract with a valid passport as their identity document; a foreigner identity number (NIE) is not legally required to sign. In practice most landlords also ask for an NIE, proof of income and a Spanish bank account, and you need the NIE to put utilities in your own name.
When renting an apartment in Spain as a foreigner, the landlord mainly checks whether you can pay, so the decisive paperwork is proof of income (a work contract, recent payslips or bank statements), not immigration status.
You apply for the NIE (Número de Identidad de Extranjero) at a Foreigners' Office (Oficina de Extranjería) or a Spanish consulate abroad, and you can sign the lease before you have it. You need it for the electricity and water contracts in your name and for the tax office.
How to rent an apartment in Spain as a foreigner, step by step
Renting a home in Spain follows a set order: gather your documents, verify the contract type, check the deposit against the legal cap, confirm the landlord pays the agency fee, sign a written lease with proof the deposit was lodged, and register on the municipal padrón.
- Gather your documents: passport, proof of income, Spanish bank account.
- Check the contract type: vivienda habitual for a permanent home; a temporary housing lease signed from 8 October 2026 must state a provable cause.
- Confirm the deposit does not exceed one month fianza plus up to two months guarantee on a lease of up to five years (seven if the landlord is a company; no cap if longer), or one month on a temporary housing lease from 8 October 2026.
- Confirm the landlord pays the estate-agency fee.
- Sign a written contract and get proof the fianza was lodged.
- Register on the municipal padrón at your new address.
Steps two to four each match a right that the Ley de Arrendamientos Urbanos (LAU) gives you automatically: the five-year minimum term, the capped deposit and the landlord-paid agency fee. For step five, either party may require a written lease stating the parties, the property, the agreed duration, the initial rent and the other agreed clauses (LAU art. 37.1). Writing is obligatory if the tenant asks, but a verbal contract stays valid and effective without it (art. 37.2).
How much deposit can a landlord legally ask for?
A landlord can legally demand one month's rent as the obligatory rental deposit in Spain (the fianza) on a home, plus an additional guarantee capped at two more months on a home lease of up to five years (seven if the landlord is a company). With the first month's rent, that makes up to four months at signing, or three on a temporary housing lease signed from 8 October 2026; a home lease agreed for longer has no cap on the guarantee (Ley de Arrendamientos Urbanos, arts. 17.2 and 36).
The fianza and the extra guarantee
Besides the one-month fianza (art. 36.1 of the Ley de Arrendamientos Urbanos), art. 36.5 lets the landlord ask for an extra guarantee: a further cash deposit or a bank guarantee (aval). Under the consolidated text of the LAU, it may not exceed two months' rent on a home lease of up to five years (seven if the landlord is a company), or one month on a temporary housing lease signed from 8 October 2026. For a home lease agreed for longer, art. 36.5 sets no such cap.
Getting the deposit back
When you return the keys, the landlord has one month to return the fianza; after that the unpaid balance earns statutory legal interest (interés legal del dinero) in your favour, under art. 36.4. In most regions the landlord must also lodge the deposit with the regional housing authority (for example INCASOL in Catalonia).
Since 8 October 2026, art. 36.7 (added by Real Decreto-ley 29/2026) requires the parties to record the state of the home, when it is handed back, in an end-of-lease document (documento de finalización del arrendamiento) that both sign. If no such document is signed, or it records no damage, the home is presumed, unless the contrary is proven, to have been handed back in an adequate state of repair. Ask for this document when you return the keys.
If the landlord keeps the deposit, arts. 23.2.1 and 31.2.1 of the Ley de Enjuiciamiento Civil (Ley 1/2000) let you appear in person, without a lawyer (abogado) or court representative (procurador), in a juicio verbal (the oral civil procedure) whose amount does not exceed €2,000, and for the initial petition of a proceso monitorio (an order-for-payment procedure).
Under art. 36.2, the fianza is not updated during the first five years of the lease, or seven if the landlord is a company, however much the rent changes. At each renewal after that, the landlord may demand that the deposit be increased, or the tenant that it be reduced, to one month of the current rent.
| Contract element | Legal rule (2026) | Statute |
|---|---|---|
| Security deposit (fianza) | 1 month's rent for a home, including a temporary housing lease signed from 8 October 2026; 2 months only for non-residential use | LAU arts. 2.3 and 36.1 |
| Additional guarantee (aval) | Up to 2 extra months on a lease of up to 5 years (7 if the landlord is a company), no cap if longer; up to 1 extra month on a temporary housing lease signed from 8 October 2026 | LAU art. 36.5 |
| Max lawful upfront total | First month + 1 month fianza + up to 2 months guarantee = up to 4 months on a lease of up to 5 years (7 if the landlord is a company); up to 3 months on a temporary housing lease signed from 8 October 2026 | LAU arts. 17.2 and 36 |
| Deposit return | Within 1 month of returning keys; legal interest if late | LAU art. 36.4 |
| Minimum term | 5 years (individual landlord) / 7 years (company) | LAU art. 9.1 |
| Tacit renewal | Now: up to 3 more years; landlord 4-month / tenant 2-month notice. From 15 November 2026: 5-year periods (7 for a company); landlord 6-month notice | LAU art. 10.1 (Real Decreto-ley 28/2026) |
| Agency & contract fees | Paid by the landlord, not the tenant | LAU art. 20.2 (rule introduced by Ley 12/2023) |
| Rent payment method | Electronic by default; cash only if a party has no bank account | LAU art. 17.3 (Ley 12/2023) |
| Annual rent increase | From 8 October 2026: capped by the IRAV index, also for contracts signed before 26 May 2023 | LAU art. 18.1 / Ley 12/2023 |
Real Decreto-ley 28/2026 will rewrite LAU art. 10 from 15 November 2026. A landlord who then validly gives notice of non-renewal will have to compensate the tenant with the greater of twelve monthly payments or one monthly payment per year that the tenant has lived in the home, subject to the exceptions in art. 10.2.
Both amounts will be calculated on the upper value of the home's individualised range in the state reference system for housing rental prices or, without such a value, on the monthly contract rent in force on the notice date; in the per-year amount, part-years will be prorated by months and part-months by days. The landlord will pay the indemnity when the home is handed back, except in the case of art. 10.2 letter a) (the landlord, a natural person, needs the home as a permanent home for themselves or the relatives named there).
Under the transitional rule of Real Decreto-ley 28/2026 (disposición transitoria única), a landlord's non-renewal notice validly given before its publication in the BOE of 7 October 2026 will keep its effect and give no right to the art. 10.1 indemnity, even if a statutory extraordinary extension later applies (apartado 1). Where fewer than six months remain on 15 November 2026 until the contract or the extension in progress expires, the landlord's notice may be given at least four months before that date (apartado 2). A contract already in the art. 10.1 extension period under the previous wording (up to three more years) on 15 November 2026 will continue in it until it ends; the rewritten art. 10 will then apply (apartado 3).
Worked example. Emma finds a flat in Madrid at €1,200 a month. On a five-year home lease, the most her landlord can lawfully ask for at signing is €4,800: the first month (€1,200), one month fianza (€1,200) and up to two months guarantee (€2,400). If the agency demands the first month plus four months of deposit (€6,000), the deposit exceeds the three-month ceiling for fianza plus guarantee (€3,600) by a month, which is not enforceable. On a temporary housing lease signed from 8 October 2026 the guarantee is at most €1,200, so the maximum at signing is €3,600.
Vivienda habitual vs contrato de temporada: the costly trap
The costliest mistake is signing a temporary contract — long known as a contrato de temporada (seasonal contract) — for what is really your permanent home, because it removes the five- to seven-year security of tenure of a vivienda habitual lease. For contracts signed from 8 October 2026, the contract must state a real, provable cause for your temporary stay, and the landlord must prove it (LAU arts. 2.3 and 7.2).
Some landlords label a genuine long-term home rental as a temporary one to avoid the minimum terms.
Temporary rental contract in Spain: the rules from 8 October 2026
From 8 October 2026 the LAU defines a temporary housing lease (arrendamiento de vivienda temporal) as one that covers your need for housing while you are temporarily displaced from your habitual home for a justified and provable cause (art. 2.3). Art. 7.2 adds three conditions:
- The contract must expressly state the cause of the temporary displacement.
- The cause must be real and provable, and the landlord, not you, must prove it.
- A contract without a properly stated cause loses its temporary nature and is subject to the rules for a habitual-home lease, with retroactive effect from the date of signing.
The new art. 9 bis also limits the duration: more than 31 days and, as a general rule, no more than 12 months. A lease that exceeds 12 months without justification, or more than two consecutive temporary housing leases between the same parties for the same home, turns the first lease into a habitual-home lease with the minimum term and extensions of arts. 9 and 10.
Art. 17.8, as last amended by Real Decreto-ley 29/2026 (in force 8 October 2026), adds a price rule. When several temporary housing leases are signed one after another on the same home, the rent of each later contract may not represent an annual percentage increase above the IRAV index in force (the rent-update index).
Renting a room in Spain
Since 8 October 2026 (Real Decreto-ley 29/2026), a lease of part of a home, a room or other space (arrendamiento parcial de una habitación o estancia), is a housing lease under the LAU: a habitual-home lease when its primary purpose is to satisfy your need for housing (art. 2.1), and a temporary housing lease when it covers that need during a temporary displacement (art. 2.3).
Art. 17.9 also limits the price: the sum of the rents agreed in the partial contracts in force at the same time on the same home may not exceed the rent of the unitary lease of the whole home. If the home is in a stressed zone (zona de mercado residencial tensionado), the rent of the unitary lease or, in its absence, that sum must respect the limits of art. 17.6, 17.7 and 17.8.
Contracts signed before 8 October 2026
Under a transitional rule (LAU disposición transitoria octava), seasonal contracts (arrendamiento por temporada) and similar contracts signed before 8 October 2026 keep their status as leases for a use other than housing and stay under the earlier rules — including the two-month fianza — until the agreed term ends. They then end with no possibility of extension; a renewed temporary lease follows the new rules.
For those older contracts, under the fraud-of-law principle (art. 6.4 of the Civil Code), Spanish courts qualify the contract by the real use of the property, not by its label: whether you have another home, are registered on the padrón and live there continuously. If the flat is really your home, a court can reclassify it as vivienda habitual and even order refunds of excess rent and deposit, but only if you take the landlord to court.
It is far cheaper to insist on a vivienda habitual contract before you sign, unless your stay really is temporary:
| Vivienda habitual | Temporary housing lease (signed from 8 October 2026) | |
|---|---|---|
| Minimum term | 5 years (7 if landlord is a company) | More than 31 days; as a general rule no more than 12 months |
| Security deposit (fianza) | 1 month's rent | 1 month's rent |
| Automatic extension | Yes, until the 5/7-year minimum | No; a lease over 12 months without a justified cause counts as vivienda habitual |
| When it is valid | Your permanent home | A temporary stay, for a cause that the contract states and the landlord can prove |
The rules dated 8 October 2026 come from a royal decree-law (real decreto-ley) of 6 October 2026, published in the BOE (the official state gazette) of 7 October 2026 and in force from 8 October 2026 (disposición final decimoprimera, apartado 1). Under art. 86.2 of the Spanish Constitution, a decree-law must be put to a validation or repeal vote within thirty days of its promulgation, so these changes depend on that vote.
The vote falls to the Diputación Permanente (the standing committee of the Congreso de los Diputados). Real Decreto 806/2026 of 5 October 2026 (BOE of 6 October 2026) dissolved the Congreso and the Senado and called general elections for 29 November 2026, so under art. 78.2 of the Constitution the Diputación Permanente assumes the chamber's powers under art. 86. The same applies to Real Decreto-ley 28/2026.
Spain's new rental laws: the extraordinary lease extension
Since 8 October 2026, disposición final quinta of Real Decreto-ley 29/2026 allows a tenant to request an extraordinary extension of a habitual-home lease that is subject to the LAU and was in force on that date. It covers a lease whose compulsory extension period under LAU art. 9.1 ends before 31 December 2028, or whose tacit extension period under art. 10 or period of tácita reconducción (implied renewal, Civil Code art. 1566) ends. It runs by yearly periods, up to two additional years, on the same terms. You must be up to date with the rent and have paid it monthly during the previous eight months. The landlord must then accept, except in three cases:
- The parties have agreed other terms.
- The parties have signed a new lease.
- The landlord has notified, under LAU art. 9.3, that they need the home for themselves or their relatives.
The extraordinary extension is incompatible with the extension for a home in a stressed zone under LAU art. 10.3, which takes precedence where it applies (apartado 1). Nor does it apply when landlord and tenant agree a renewal or a new lease with a rent at least five per cent lower than the current one (apartado 2). From 15 November 2026 it will also not apply where the extension under LAU art. 10.1 applies (Real Decreto-ley 28/2026, disposición adicional primera, apartado 1, under its disposición final segunda).
Can a tenant end the lease early in Spain?
Yes — under LAU art. 11, as in force from 8 October 2026, a tenant may withdraw (desistir) from a home lease after at least six months, giving the landlord at least 30 days' notice. On a temporary housing lease the tenant may withdraw at least one month after signing, with at least 10 days' notice. In both cases the landlord has no right to an indemnity.
Before six months have passed, you are bound to the term that you signed, apart from any break clause agreed with the landlord. After that, a written notice of desistimiento starts the 30-day period; send it in a way that proves receipt, such as burofax or a certified letter.
Before 8 October 2026, art. 11 allowed the contract to set an indemnity of one month's rent for every remaining year. Under art. 11.3 that no longer applies.
Who pays the agency fee, and how much can the rent rise?
The estate-agency fee and the cost of formalising the contract are paid by the landlord, not the tenant, on every residential lease (LAU art. 20.2; the rule was introduced by Ley 12/2023). Once a contract is running, the annual rent increase is capped by the IRAV index (2.54% for September 2026, according to the INE).
Ley 12/2023, the housing law, also made electronic payment of rent (bank transfer or direct debit) the default; cash payment at the property is allowed only if one party has no bank account and asks for it (art. 17.3).
From 8 October 2026, under art. 20.2 of the LAU, the costs of property management (gastos de gestión inmobiliaria) and of formalising the contract may not be passed on to the tenant, directly or indirectly, under any heading or name. Any other non-essential service may be charged only if you asked for it expressly in writing, after being told that it is optional and what it costs.
LAU art. 18.1 as in force from 8 October 2026 allows a rent update only on each anniversary of the contract and only in the terms that the parties agreed; without an express agreement, no update applies. In every case the increase may not exceed the percentage change of the IRAV, the reference index for home leases that the National Statistics Institute (INE) publishes each month. Contracts signed before 26 May 2023 previously followed the consumer price index (IPC); from 8 October 2026 the IRAV cap also applies to their annual update, under the amended disposición transitoria cuarta of Ley 12/2023.
The IRAV for September 2026 is 2.54%, published by the INE on 14 October 2026. The index closed 2025 at 2.32%. idealista reported that average asking rent in Spain was €15.1 per square metre per month in September 2026, up 5.6% year-on-year, with Madrid the most expensive region at €21.6/m² (€23.4/m² in the capital) and Extremadura the cheapest at €7.7/m² (published 1 October 2026).
Real Decreto-ley 29/2026 also adds a temporary measure (disposición final sexta). If your annual update falls between 8 October 2026 and 31 December 2027, you may negotiate it with the landlord. If your rent is above the maximum price under the reference price index system, no increase applies; otherwise, without a new agreement, the increase may not exceed 2%.
New-lease price ceilings apply only inside declared stressed zones, which by August 2026 exist in just five autonomous communities — Catalonia, the Basque Country, Navarre, Galicia and, since 30 July 2026, Asturias. In Madrid, Andalusia and most of Spain there is no ceiling on the rent of a new lease, only the annual-update cap once the lease is running.
Which rental contract clauses are illegal in Spain?
Under LAU art. 6, any clause that worsens the tenant's statutory rights is void and treated as unwritten, even if you signed it. Common void clauses allow unconsented landlord entry, forbid padrón registration, charge you the agency fee, demand a deposit above the legal maximum or impose rent non-payment insurance.
Housing-law firms warn that landlords who rent to foreigners often insert void clauses, expecting a non-Spanish tenant not to notice. Examples:
- Letting the landlord enter the property without your consent.
- Forbidding you from registering on the padrón (empadronamiento).
- Charging you the estate-agency fee (LAU art. 20.2).
- Demanding a deposit above the legal maximum.
- Making you pay for rent non-payment insurance (seguro de impago). From 8 October 2026, LAU art. 36.5 states that a tenant may in no case be required to take out such cover.
Registering on the padrón at your address is both a right and an obligation for anyone habitually resident in Spain, and you need it for NIE and residency procedures, public healthcare and school places.
Frequently asked questions
Can I rent an apartment in Spain without an NIE?
Yes. You can sign a Spanish rental contract with a valid passport, because the law only requires a document that proves your identity. Most landlords still ask for an NIE, and you need it for utilities in your own name and for the tax office; apply at a Foreigners' Office or Spanish consulate.
How much deposit can a landlord legally ask for in Spain?
The obligatory rental deposit in Spain (fianza) on a residential home is one month's rent under LAU art. 36.1. Any extra guarantee is capped at two further months on a home lease of up to five years (seven if the landlord is a company) and at one month on a temporary housing lease signed from 8 October 2026 (art. 36.5), so the maximum lawful cash at signing is four months on the first and three on the second. A home lease agreed for longer has no such cap.
Who pays the estate agent fee when renting in Spain?
The landlord, not the tenant, pays the estate-agency fee on every residential lease (LAU art. 20.2, a rule introduced by Ley 12/2023, in force since 26 May 2023). If an agency charges you its commission, the charge is unlawful and a clause making you pay it is void.
What is the minimum rental contract length in Spain?
Under LAU art. 9.1, a residential lease has a minimum term of five years, or seven if the landlord is a company. A shorter agreed term extends automatically by yearly periods until it reaches that minimum, unless you give at least 30 days' notice that you do not want to renew.
How much can my landlord raise the rent each year?
From 8 October 2026 the annual increase is capped by the IRAV index that the INE publishes monthly (LAU art. 18.1): 2.54% for September 2026. The cap now also covers contracts signed before 26 May 2023. For updates between 8 October 2026 and 31 December 2027, the increase without a new agreement may not exceed 2%.
What documents do I need to rent an apartment in Spain as a foreigner?
You need a valid passport as identity, proof that you can pay (a work contract, payslips or bank statements) and usually a Spanish bank account, since rent is paid electronically by default. An NIE is not required to sign the lease, but most landlords ask for one, and you need it for utilities and tax.
Can I end my rental contract early in Spain?
Yes. Under LAU art. 11, as in force from 8 October 2026, you can withdraw (desistir) after six months with at least 30 days' notice, or, on a temporary housing lease, one month after signing with at least 10 days' notice. Either way the landlord has no right to an indemnity.
What is a temporary rental contract in Spain?
From 8 October 2026 it is a temporary housing lease (arrendamiento de vivienda temporal): a lease of more than 31 days and, as a general rule, no more than 12 months, for a tenant temporarily displaced from the habitual home for a justified cause. The contract must state that cause and the landlord must prove it (LAU arts. 2.3, 7.2 and 9 bis).
Last verified 26 October 2026 against the consolidated text of the Ley de Arrendamientos Urbanos (Ley 29/1994, arts. 2, 6, 7, 9, 9 bis, 10, 11, 17, 18, 20, 36, 37), Ley 12/2023, Real Decreto-ley 28/2026, Real Decreto-ley 29/2026, Real Decreto 806/2026, the Ley de Enjuiciamiento Civil (arts. 23 and 31) and arts. 78.2 and 86.2 of the Constitución Española, as published by the BOE.
