Rent property

Rental agreements are set for a fixed term agreed between landlord and tenant, but situations such as illness may force tenants to leave early. The Urban Leases Law (LAU) does not explicitly recognise illness as force majeure, although this does not mean tenants are entirely unprotected if a serious health condition prevents them from continuing to pay rent. In such cases, it is advisable to speak with the landlord, explain the situation and try to reach a written agreement – while also complying with the notice periods required by law.

Behind every room search is someone starting a new job, moving to another city, leaving home for the first time or needing to find something quickly because their current contract is ending soon.

For many, renting can feel like paying for a home without ever owning it. Buying is the alternative, but it comes with a significant financial commitment—especially with mortgage interest rates still relatively high.

Spain’s rental market is under intense pressure, with rising demand, limited supply and growing political scrutiny of tourist accommodation.

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Article 18 of Spain’s Urban Leases Act (LAU) sets out how residential rents can be updated during a tenancy.

Spain’s long-running boom in tourist apartments is starting to turn.

The share of household income needed to rent a property in Spain stands at 36% of the average family’s total net income, while for buying it is significantly lower at 25%, excluding the savings required to secure financing, according to a study by idealista based on data from Q3 2025.

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Over the past year, the percentage of household income needed for housing rose to 23% for purchases and 36% for rentals, according to an idealista study based on Q1 2025 data.

Non-payment of rent can manifest in various ways, not solely the rent itself. For instance, tenants may also be responsible for paying utilities or community fees. So, what happens in these situations? Can I evict the tenant if they fail to pay their utilities or community fees?

Five of the 10 most popular locations to find a rental apartment during the second quarter of the year are in the metropolitan area of Barcelona. According to the idealista study, Hospitalet de Llobregat leads the relative rental demand between April and June, followed by Badalona and Vitoria, the first provincial capital on the list. After them, Terrassa, Manresa and Sabadell complete this Barcelona quintet, all of them ahead of Barcelona (8). Still in this 'top 10' the Madrid town of Alcala de Henares and two cities in Tarragona such as Salou and Reus also appear.

Employment is one of the great drivers of rental demand in Spain, along with the creation of homes. An Urban Land Institute (ULI) report shows the strong growth in Social Security registration that the country's main provincial capitals have seen in the last five years, reaching record levels in Alicante, Madrid, Malaga, Bilbao, Seville and Murcia.

Shared flat supply increased by 43% year-on-year during the first quarter, while demand has barely decreased by 1%, which has caused the price to only increase by 3%, to €400 per month, according to a report by idealista. At this time, there is a greater stock of rooms available compared to a year ago in all provincial capitals, except Palencia, Huesca, Segovia and Soria.

Legally renting a property for tourist purposes implies complying with certain requirements that may vary depending on different factors: whether it is a business or professional activity; where the accommodation is located; whether or not it is in a horizontal property regime... Firstly, you should know who regulates tourist accommodation: the regulations that regulate flats and houses for tourist use in Spain are the responsibility of the autonomous communities and the owners themselves.

A lack of rental supply is driving more tenants to sublet rooms without the landlord's consent, as reported by the Agency for Rental Negotiation (ANA). However, the real problem arises when those who do so seek to make a business out of subletting, which, moreover, they do not declare. The ANA is committed to improving the search for solvent tenants and penalising these practices in the contracts.

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Rental listings posted on idealista in the first quarter of 2024 received an average of 27 leads before they were removed, a figure that is 55% higher than that recorded in the same period of 2023. This surge in demand pressure, caused by the decrease in available supply, has led to rental prices rising by 12.6% in the last year, according to a study published by the southern European real estate marketplace. The contacts received per advertisement in Madrid (41) and Barcelona (40) skyrocketed, while Vitoria, Guadalajara and the Canary Islands capitals reached the highest volume of interested people.

Seasonal rentals keep gaining relevance in the real estate market to the detriment of permanent rentals, as a consequence of the successive policies that are driving this phenomenon. In the first quarter of 2024, this type of rental accounted for 11% of the market, with a year-on-year increase in supply of 56%, while the permanent rental supply fell by 15% in the same period.

With the rise of 'okupación' in Spain, property owners and individuals alike are seeking to navigate the legal landscape and social implications of squatting.

In recent times, irregular practices have been escalating in the rental market in Spain. Experts are detecting that some landlords are flouting the mandatory renewals to which tenants are entitled. To do this, they claim they need to recover the home, reside in it for a time and then sell or rent it at a higher price.

Homeownership is losing ground in Spain in favour of renting.

With the new annual rent renewal limit, some tenants are finding themselves with the unpleasant surprise that their landlord wants to raise their rents by 5%: 2% for 2023 because they did not get to apply this increase and 3% for this year.

House prices have risen during 2023 and experts predict they will not slow down this year either. Although hikes may be less significant, what will happen to rent in Spain?

The Governing Council of the Andalusian Regional Government approved on Monday the new decree on tourist accommodation (VUT), tourist apartments and hotel establishments in the region, which introduces the main new feature that local councils may limit the maximum number of tourist flats per buildin