Should we renew our lease or move?

In Spain a long-term lease on your main home renews itself: you can stay for at least 5 years (7 if the landlord is a company), whatever the contract says. Rental law changed again on 8 October 2026, and part of it still needs approval by Congress, so check the current rules before you agree anything.

How renewal works

For a lease on your main home (vivienda habitual), the term you sign is a minimum, not a limit. If it is shorter than 5 years (7 with a company landlord), it renews automatically each year until it reaches that length (prórroga obligatoria). Only you can stop it, by telling the landlord at least 30 days before the end date or before any annual renewal.

Since 8 October 2026, tenants whose compulsory renewal period ends before 31 December 2028 can ask for an extraordinary extension of up to 2 more years on the same terms, if they have paid the rent every month for the previous 8 months. The landlord must accept, unless you agree a new contract or they need the home for themselves or close family. In a stressed area, a different extension of up to 3 years applies instead.

Rent rises at renewal

Rent can only change once a year, on the contract anniversary, and only if the contract has an update clause. Without one, the rent stays the same. The landlord must tell you in writing, giving the percentage, and the new rent applies from the following month.

• The IRAV cap: the yearly rise can’t exceed the IRAV, now also on contracts signed before May 2023, the rent index the INE (national statistics office) publishes each month. It is the lowest of the inflation rate, core inflation and an adjusted average. For August 2026 it was 2.47%, while inflation was 4.3%
• Extra cap until 2027: for updates due between 8 October 2026 and 31 December 2027, the rise is whatever you and the landlord newly agree, and without a new agreement it can’t be more than 2%. If the rent is already above the state reference price for the home, there is no rise at all
• No renewal fees: agency and paperwork costs for preparing or renewing a lease can’t be passed to you
• No property taxes: on contracts signed since 8 October 2026, taxes on the home such as IBI (property tax) can’t be passed to you
• Repairs: if something affects habitability, you can ask in writing with a reasonable quote. The landlord has 15 calendar days to respond, or you can have it done and deduct the cost from future rent

Stressed areas (zonas tensionadas)

Regions can declare “stressed residential market areas”. There, a new contract’s rent can’t exceed the last rent of the previous 5 years (updated), except by up to 10% after certain renovations or for a lease of 10 years or more, and large landlords are capped at the state reference price. At 30 September 2026 there were 317 municipalities in Catalonia, Navarre, the Basque Country, Asturias and Galicia.

Can the landlord take the home back?

During the first 5 years, a landlord who is a private person can end the lease early only after the first year, and only if the contract expressly said they might need the home for themselves, close family or a former spouse after divorce. They must give at least 2 months’ notice and say why. If nobody moves in within 3 months, you can choose to return for up to 5 years with your costs paid, or get one month’s rent for each year left up to 5. The 2026 extraordinary extension also gives way to a real, proven need, even if the contract didn’t mention it.

Leaving early

You can end the lease once it has run for 6 months by giving 30 days’ notice. Since 8 October 2026 the law says this gives the landlord no right to compensation, as long as Congress approves the decree. Contracts signed before then may still contain a compensation clause, often a month’s rent for each year left. Give notice in writing and keep proof that it arrived, and if you live with a spouse or partner, agree it with them: they can have the right to stay.

Getting your deposit (fianza) back

1. Check the inventory and photos from move-in. When you leave, both of you should sign an end-of-tenancy document recording the state of the home. If none is signed, or it lists no damage, the home is presumed returned in good condition
2. Hand back all keys and get a signed receipt with the date
3. The landlord deducts only unpaid rent, bills or damage beyond normal wear. After one month from returning the keys, any balance not paid back earns legal interest
4. If the landlord refuses, send a written claim and get advice from a consumer organisation or a lawyer

Ask your landlord for proof it was lodged. The landlord can’t make you take out rent-default insurance, and any extra security on top of the deposit is capped at 2 months’ rent on leases of up to 5 or 7 years.

Staying or moving: the real cost

A move means a new deposit (often before the old one comes back), removals, and reconnecting supplies. Agency fees for a new lease are paid by the landlord. The moving fund calculator adds it up. For the search itself, see finding a place to rent and renting a home in Spain; for buying, buying a home.