Investment approach
A Building with Tenants: the Vacating Timeline and the Exit
A building with tenants is valued by the timeline for vacating the apartments. The buyer takes on the contracts (art. 14 LAU), and in a stressed-market zone a tenant may ask for a further three years.
A building with tenants is valued by the vacating timeline: for each apartment you work out when the contract ends, how far it can be extended and what the waiting costs. The buyer takes on the existing contracts together with the building (art. 14 LAU), and in a stressed-market zone the tenant may ask for an extension of up to three more years (art. 10.3). The rules were checked as of 12 October 2026.
What the buyer takes on with the building
The buyer of a rented apartment steps into the landlord's rights and obligations for the first five years of the contract, or seven years if the previous landlord was a legal entity, even when the buyer is protected by the registry (art. 14 Ley 29/1994, LAU, the Urban Leases Act). If the contract was concluded for a longer term, the buyer takes it on in full. An exception arises only under the protection of art. 34 Ley Hipotecaria (Mortgage Act): then the buyer tolerates the contract only up to five or seven years, and the seller compensates the tenant with a month's rent for each extra year.
The tenant's right of first purchase on the sale of a building in a single lot changed in October 2026. Until 8 October, art. 25.7 LAU excluded it if all the apartments and commercial units were sold in one transaction. RDL 29/2026 (art. 3, para. 15) keeps the tenant's tanteo and retracto (rights of first refusal and buy-back) in such a sale too, if the apartment is jurídicamente individualizable (legally separate), and requires the price attributable to the rented apartment to be stated. The Congreso (Congress of Deputies) has not yet validated this decree, and for a building without propiedad horizontal the question of being "separate" is one for an abogado (lawyer). Llei 11/2025 (art. 6) gives the Generalitat tanteo and retracto over the apartments of a legal entity that is a gran tenedor (large holder) in the Registre de grans tenidors (BOE); whether it applies to the sale of a whole building is not stated directly in the text. The general picture is in the article on the Generalitat's tanteo and retracto.
How long a contract can last
The contract term is counted from a table, because a single building usually has several:
| What | Term | LAU rule |
|---|---|---|
| Minimum term | 5 years, 7 if the landlord is a legal entity | art. 9.1 |
| Tacit extension | year by year, up to 3 years, if nobody gives notice (landlord 4 months ahead, tenant 2) | art. 10.1 |
| Extension in a stressed-market zone | at the tenant's request, year by year, up to 3 years | art. 10.3 |
| Extension for vulnerable tenants | up to 1 year; a landlord who is a gran tenedor must accept | art. 10.2 |
| Taking the apartment back for own use | only an individual, and only if it is written in the contract | art. 9.3 |
A buyer that is a company cannot take an apartment back "for itself". And an extension under art. 10.3 must be accepted by the landlord, unless the parties agreed otherwise, a new contract with a rent cap was concluded or art. 9.3 was applied. Barcelona is on the list of the zone under resolution TER/800/2024. The declaration lasts three years, until March 2027 (Ley 12/2023, art. 18.2.d). In July 2026 the Generalitat began a procedure to extend it by a year, and as of 12 October there is no final resolution, so an extension under art. 10.3 after March 2027 depends on its outcome.
What rent can be charged after vacating
In a stressed-market zone the rent of a new contract cannot exceed the last rent in the past five years for the same apartment, adjusted for annual indexation. A surcharge of up to 10% is possible with rehabilitation, a 30% saving in primary energy, improved accessibility or a contract of ten years or longer (art. 17.6 LAU). For a gran tenedor a maximum price under the reference price index applies (art. 17.7). Annual indexation is limited by the IRAV index (art. 18.1 as amended by RDL 29/2026, from 8.10.2026), and without an express indexation clause there is none. The calculation of rent by zone is covered in the article on rent caps.
How to calculate the cost of waiting
The cost of waiting for one apartment equals the monthly shortfall (the cost of capital tied up in the apartment minus the tenant's net rent) multiplied by the number of months until vacating.
Worked example, not a forecast. Eight apartments, the value of an empty apartment 520,000 €, cost of capital 8% a year (3,467 € a month), rent 1,100 € a month less 15% costs (935 €). The shortfall is 2,532 € a month.
| Months until vacating | Cost of waiting, € | % of the empty apartment's price |
|---|---|---|
| 4 | 10,127 | 1.9 |
| 15 | 37,975 | 7.3 |
| 30 | 75,950 | 14.6 |
| 55 | 139,242 | 26.8 |
Suppose that across the eight apartments, with terms from 4 to 55 months, the average vacating time is 27.5 months. The average wait then costs 69,621 € per apartment (13.4% of the price). If every tenant asks for a three-year extension under art. 10.3 (+36 months), the average becomes 160,761 € (30.9%), and the last apartment is vacated after 91 months. The seller's discount for the tenants must cover at least this, plus the risk of a dispute.
Works do not vacate apartments
Renovation does not terminate a contract. The tenant must tolerate urgent improvements, receives three months' notice, has the right to leave within a month and a reduction in rent (art. 22 LAU); if the home has become unfit for use, the tenant may suspend the contract or leave without compensation (art. 26). This is a circumstance for the timeline, not a way to empty the building.
What changed in October 2026
On 29 September Real Decreto-ley 26/2026 and 27/2026 were published, changing the LAU and Ley 12/2023; on 2 October the Congress repealed both (BOE-A-2026-20526, BOE-A-2026-20527). On 6 October two new ones were published, both unvalidated as of 12 October. They are not included in the calculation above, but they change the timeline:
- RDL 29/2026, from 8.10.2026: a tenant without arrears may ask for an extension of up to two years if the mandatory term ends before 31.12.2028 (disp. final 5; art. 10.3 takes priority). Without the parties' agreement, indexation until 31.12.2027 is capped at 2% (disp. final 6).
- RDL 28/2026, from 15.11.2026: instead of annual extensions of up to three years, the contract is extended in five-year blocks (seven if the landlord is a legal entity). The landlord gives six months' notice and pays compensation: not less than twelve monthly rents at the reference price, or a month for each year of residence, with exceptions in art. 10.2.
Terms for the case of new rules are fixed in the sale contract with an abogado.
Who this purchase does not suit
It does not suit you if you need an exit faster than two to three years: the building's timeline is set by the longest contract. It does not suit you if the building has tenants on old contracts: their terms are covered in the article on renta antigua. DNPI Capital has no completed projects involving whole buildings, so what is described here is a method, not a result.
Next step
Enter the contract terms and the rent shortfall into the investor calculator. The general logic of buying a building from 10 M€ is described in the article on buying an apartment building.
Questions and answers
Can tenants be evicted after the building is bought?
The contract continues, and the buyer steps into the landlord's rights (art. 14 LAU). It can be ended by agreement, at the end of its term without extension, or on grounds from the contract and the law.
Can a company take an apartment back for its own needs?
No. Art. 9.3 LAU gives this right only to a landlord who is an individual, and only if the condition is written in the contract.
How long must one wait for the building to be empty?
The term is set by the longest contract plus possible extensions. In our worked example it is from 55 to 91 months. A real timeline is built contract by contract.
Does a tenant get a right to buy when the whole building is sold?
Until 8 October 2026, no: art. 25.7 LAU excluded the right when all the apartments were sold in one lot. RDL 29/2026 changed this for legally separate apartments, but it has not been validated. The administration's rights under Llei 11/2025 are checked by an abogado.
