Investment approach
Tenant not paying in Spain: demand, court and the 2026 rules
A landlord gets the flat back only through the courts. A demand 30 days before the claim stops the tenant halting the case with one payment, and RDL 29/2026 adds a stage for vulnerable tenants.
If a tenant of a home in Spain stops paying, the landlord can recover the flat and the money only through the courts. The main step before filing is a payment demand, sent by a method that proves both delivery and content, at least 30 days before the claim is filed. That way the tenant loses the right to stop the eviction by simply clearing the debt during the proceedings (art. 22.4 of the Ley de Enjuiciamiento Civil (LEC, the Civil Procedure Act)).
Desahucio for non-payment is an accelerated court procedure (juicio verbal) in which the landlord asks the court to terminate the lease, return the flat and recover the debt (art. 250.1.1 LEC). The ground for terminating the lease for non-payment comes from art. 27.2 of Ley 29/1994 de Arrendamientos Urbanos (LAU, the Urban Leases Act).
What to do in the first weeks after a missed payment
First the debt has to be recorded in a document with a verified text and delivery date, and only then is the claim prepared. Messenger-app messages will not do for this.
- Check exactly what is unpaid. Also check whether the tenant sent a written repair request: from 8 October 2026, under art. 21.5 LAU, the tenant may, after 15 calendar days without a reply, do the repair and deduct it from future rent.
- Send the payment demand stating the amount, the period and a deadline; in practice this is often a burofax (registered delivery with certified text). The 30 days under art. 22.4 LEC run from the delivery date.
- Allow for pre-trial negotiation: since 3 April 2025 most civil claims require a prior attempt at settlement (art. 5 of Ley Orgánica 1/2025). How to meet this requirement in a given case is for the abogado (lawyer) to decide.
- Collect the lease, the debt calculation, proof of the demand and, if the landlord is not a gran tenedor (large-scale holder of housing), a Registro de la Propiedad (land registry) certificate of the landlord's properties (art. 439.6 LEC).
- If the debt remains unpaid, file the claim for eviction and recovery of the debt.
How the eviction case for non-payment runs
Once the claim is admitted, the court gives the tenant 10 days to vacate, to pay, to clear the whole debt and end the case, or to object (art. 438.5 LEC). If the tenant stays silent, the case is closed by a decree and the lanzamiento (the physical eviction) takes place on the set day. If the tenant objects, the court sets the lanzamiento date no later than 30 days after the hearing date (art. 438.6).
The tenant can clear the debt and keep the lease (enervación, the right to stop eviction by paying) only once. That right does not exist if the tenant has already used it before, or if the landlord sent the demand 30 days before the claim and no payment was made by the time of filing.
The claim must state whether this is the tenant's main home and whether the claimant has gran tenedor status; otherwise it is not admitted (art. 439.6 LEC). If the flat is the main home, the court notifies the social services, and if vulnerability is confirmed it can suspend the case for up to two months when the claimant is an individual and up to four when it is a company (art. 441.5 and 441.6 LEC).
What RDL 29/2026 changed for non-payment cases
Since 8 October 2026 Real Decreto-ley 29/2026 (a government decree-law) has been in force, and it added a stage between the claim and the eviction. Congress has not yet ratified the decree-law (as of 13 October 2026), so before filing, check the current wording with an abogado.
| Situation | What the rule provides | What it means for the landlord |
|---|---|---|
| Demand sent 30 days before the claim | Ordinary enervación is closed (art. 22.4 LEC) | Payment during the proceedings no longer stops the eviction |
| Tenant economically vulnerable, claim for non-payment | Within two months the administration offers housing or pays the debt and court costs, the case is paused (art. 22.6 LEC) | The money arrives, the lease continues |
| After two months, neither housing nor payment | The administration becomes the debtor under the lease | No eviction, the lease runs to the end of its term while the vulnerability lasts |
| Other cases, vulnerability with no housing alternative | Suspension until 31.12.2030, reviewed every 12 months, three years at most (art. 2.2 of the decree-law) | Compensation is due to the individual landlord or the social-rental company |
| Landlord is an individual with two flats or fewer | The tenant's economic vulnerability does not prevail (art. 2.2) | Suspension on this ground does not apply |
Compensation under art. 2.2 is limited to unpaid rent, unpaid utilities and court costs. The special enervación under art. 22.6 is not treated as the earlier one and is possible even after a demand made 30 days before. The rules also apply to cases already in enforcement if the eviction has not yet taken place (second transitional provision, disposición transitoria segunda, of the decree-law).
What a landlord must not do
A landlord cannot take the flat back by their own means: change the locks, cut the water or electricity, remove belongings without a court ruling. The law leaves only the court route, and self-help creates a risk of counterclaims whatever the size of the debt.
How much money goes while the process runs: a worked example
Worked example, not a forecast. Rent of 1,500 € a month, a deposit of one month's rent (art. 36.1 LAU), an additional guarantee of two months, the maximum for a lease of up to five years (art. 36.5 LAU). Two months unpaid before the demand, a month's wait under art. 22.4, and trial and eviction assumed to take another six months.
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
| Unpaid rent for 9 months | 13,500 € |
| Deposit and additional guarantee | 4,500 € |
| Uncovered, before court and other costs | 9,000 € |
The trial duration in the example is an assumption. How to build such a reserve into the calculation is shown in the breakdown of net rental yield.
How to reduce the risk before signing the lease
The risk is reduced before signature: by checking the tenant's ability to pay, and by the deposit and guarantee within the limits of the law. Since 8 October 2026 a landlord cannot require the tenant to take out non-payment insurance (art. 36.5 LAU as amended by RDL 29/2026), and the guarantee on a temporary lease is capped at one month's rent. In Catalonia the deposit is lodged with Incasòl (the Catalan deposit register), see the article on registering the fianza, and the lease clauses are covered in what to include in a rental contract.
When this procedure does not fit
The scheme is built for a residential lease under the LAU. If someone lives in the flat without a lease, recovering possession follows other points of art. 250.1 LEC. Tourist accommodation under special rules is excluded from the LAU (art. 5.e).
When buying a flat that is already let, the tenant comes to you with their payment history, and it is checked before the deal, see the article on buying a flat with a tenant. If the flat belongs to a company, there will be no compensation under art. 2.2 of the decree-law, except for social or affordable rental companies. The risk of non-payment in a model of a property for letting can be analysed within an investment analysis.
Questions and answers
Can the locks be changed if the tenant has not paid for several months?
No. The flat can be recovered only through the courts, even with an undisputed debt. Self-help eviction or cutting utilities exposes the landlord to claims.
Why send a burofax if it will end up in court anyway?
A demand 30 days before the claim removes the tenant's right to stop the eviction with a single payment during the proceedings. Without it the tenant can clear the debt once, and the lease continues.
What happens if the tenant proves vulnerability?
Since 8 October 2026 the administration has two months to offer the tenant housing or to pay the debt with the court costs. If it does neither, it becomes the debtor under the lease and there is no eviction. The decree-law has not yet been ratified by Congress.
Can a tenant be required to insure against non-payment?
Not since 8 October 2026; art. 36.5 LAU expressly prohibits it. An additional guarantee on top of the deposit in a lease of up to five years is capped at two months' rent.
