Will you sign a rental contract in Spain? Here we tell you your rights and duties.

Will you sign a rental agreement? Here we tell you your rights and duties.

When signing a rental contract in Spain in order for the property to be used as a home, you must know your rights and duties as owner or tenant, reflected in the current Urban Leasing Law and in the Civil Code.

Here we will explain the most outstanding:

1 Contract duration period

It is an agreement between the parties. If they do not explicitly reflect it, the contract has a duration of one year. However, the tenant has the right to extend the contract up to a maximum of five years if the lessor is a natural person, or up to seven years if he is a legal person. This applies even if a term of one or two years has been agreed with the owner.

However, assuming that the contract enters into the mandatory extension of up to five years for the owner, from the first year the owner has the right to terminate the contract if he needs the address for himself or his family (children or parents), in in the event that this has been stated in the Lease Agreement.

2 The circumstances of the home  

When delivering the house, it is the owner’s obligation to maintain it in the conditions that were agreed upon. This includes that it must be responsible for the repair work necessary to comply with the habitability conditions agreed in the contract.

The responsibility to repair the dwelling by the landlord has two exceptions:

When the damages are caused by the tenant.
When they carry out small repairs that are the obligation of the tenant.

An example of this is that the landlord must pay for the repairs of leaking walls, while the tenant must carry out repairs such as replacing light bulbs, faucet filters, among others.

3 The collection of rent  

The tenant’s main duty is to pay the rent within the agreed term.

The update of the rent can be carried out (up or down, according to the CPI), as long as it is established in the contract.

Also according to the Urban Leasing Law in article 17.5 it explains that if the house has defects at the time of renting it, the tenant can assume the responsibility of repairing the damage in exchange for a reduction in the cost of rent.
In turn, the tenant has the duty to make a payment other than rent as a deposit.

The tenant may not cause damage to the home or carry out annoying or dangerous activities.

If the tenant stops living at home, the owner can request the termination of the contract (except if his relatives live), or if he transfers the home to a third party without the prior notice and consent of the owner.

4 Beware of null clauses

We mention the most frequent clauses in the contracts that have been null and void for breaching the Urban Leasing Law:

By calling the seasonal contract when it is permanent.
Eliminate the right of extension for 5 years.

Make the tenant waive his right to abandon the contract, or demand that a period of more than six months must have elapsed.

Forcing the tenant to bear the cost of home repairs when the owner is the one who should pay for it.

Require the tenant that the owner must have access to the dwelling. When renting, the home is protected by the right of inviolability of the tenant’s home, for which the owner can only enter if the tenant allows it or through judicial permission.

If you liked this article or it helped you a lot to now sign a rental contract, let us know in the comments.