Tenant rights under the LAU: what an owner must know before signing

Tenant rights under the LAU (Ley de Arrendamientos Urbanos, the Urban Leases Act) are a set of rules in the tenancy law that cannot be worsened by contract: terms against the tenant are void (art. 6). The main point for the owner: a residential contract lasts at least five years, seven if the landlord is a legal entity, and from 15 November 2026, under RDL 28/2026 (Real Decreto-ley 28/2026), refusing to renew it after that term usually costs compensation of no less than twelve months' rent at the state index (BOE). The Congreso has not yet validated the decree-law.

Which tenant rights cannot be cancelled by contract

The rules of the housing part of the LAU give the tenant a minimum of protection: a clause that worsens the tenant's position is deemed unwritten unless the law expressly permits the exception.

The rules marked RDL 29/2026 apply from 8 October 2026; the Congreso has not yet validated the decree-law.

How long the contract lasts and how it is extended

The minimum term is counted from the date of the contract or from handover of the flat, if later. The tenant may decline to extend the contract by giving 30 days' notice, while the owner cannot leave the contract before the minimum expires, except for the tenant's breaches and the case in article 9.3.

After the minimum, different rules apply by date. Until 15 November 2026, a contract without notice is extended year by year for up to three more years, and the owner gives at least four months' notice. From 15 November 2026, under RDL 28/2026, the contract is extended compulsorily for a new five years, seven for a legal entity, and the owner gives at least six months' notice. By refusing to renew, the owner pays the tenant the larger of two sums: twelve months' rent at the upper limit of the state price index for that flat, or one such month's rent for each year of residence. If there is no individual index value, it is calculated from the current rent. If the flat is sold, the obligation passes to the buyer. Contracts that on 15 November are already in the three-year extension run it out under the old rules.

There is no compensation in the cases set out by the law, for example if an owner who is an individual needs the flat for personal use or for relatives up to the second degree and this is stated in the notice. Notices of non-renewal given before the decree-law was published on 7 October 2026 keep their force without compensation.

Separately, from 8 October 2026 RDL 29/2026 (BOE) gives the tenant a right to an extraordinary extension by years, up to a maximum of two: if the compulsory term of the existing contract ends before 31 December 2028 and the tenant has paid without delays during the last eight months. The Congreso has not yet validated either decree-law; before deciding, the wording in force is checked with the lawyer.

What refusing renewal can cost

Worked example, not a forecast. The upper limit of the state index for the flat is 1,400 € a month (an assumption; the real figure comes from the state system of rental price indices).

Twelve months' rent acts as the floor, so refusing renewal is expensive even after the first five years. If a purchase is planned with an exit through selling the flat empty, this sum is built into the calculation from the start. How this changes the calculation for the buyer of a flat with a tenant is covered in the article buying a flat with a tenant.

When the owner can take the flat back for themselves

Only if the owner is an individual, the first year of the contract has passed and the need to occupy the flat for themselves or for first-degree relatives is expressly written into the contract at signing (art. 9.3). At least two months' notice is required.

If within three months after the tenant leaves neither the owner nor the relatives have moved in, the tenant chooses within 30 days: to return to the flat for up to five more years on the previous terms, or to receive one month's rent for each year remaining until five.

What to prepare before signing the contract

Six things are worth doing before signing.

1. Decide whether the clause of article 9.3 on taking the flat back for personal use is needed, and write it in expressly.
2. Deposit the fianza (deposit) of one month's rent with the Incasòl within two months of signing (Incasòl); the procedure is in the article how to register the fianza.
3. Write the indexation clause: without it the rent does not change for the whole term.
4. Check the rent ceiling if the flat is in a stressed housing market zone, see the rent cap.
5. Build the notice dates into the schedule: six months for the owner under the new article 10.
6. At move-out, sign with the tenant a document on the condition of the flat: without it the flat is deemed returned in proper condition (art. 36.7, as worded by RDL 29/2026).

When a long-term let under the LAU does not fit

A long-term let does not suit an owner who wants to sell the flat empty within the next five years or to use it personally without the clause of article 9.3. What to do if the tenant does not pay is described in the article if the tenant does not pay.

The term rules above do not work for a tourist let of up to 31 days: it is excluded from the LAU and governed by tourism rules. They do not work for renting premises for a business, where a different part of the law applies. A seasonal let of a home from 8 October 2026 follows its own term rules (art. 9 bis): more than 31 days and, as a rule, no more than 12 months, with a real reason for temporary residence.