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Renting in Spain – rent caps, deposits, your rights as a tenant and purchase tax by region

Last updated 25 September 2026Rules checked every MondayOfficial sourcesSources & methodology →

Renting in Spain now depends on the region: it decides whether your rent is capped, who holds your deposit and how much tax you pay if you buy. Here are the tenant rules that apply everywhere, the five regions with rent caps, and purchase taxes in Madrid, Catalonia and Valencia.

Woman pulling a suitcase into a bright, furnished bedroom
Photo: pikselstock/Adobe Stock

Renting in Spain in 2026 means knowing which region you are in. Rent caps in zonas tensionadas (stressed residential areas) apply in parts of five regions – Catalonia, the Basque Country, Navarre, Galicia and, since 30 July 2026, Asturias – but not in Madrid or Valencia. The golden visa ended on 3 April 2025 under Organic Law 1/2025, and Catalonia raised its transfer tax on resale homes over €600,000 from 27 June 2025.

Your contract, with the latest rent receipt, is also your proof of address for the padrón (municipal register) at the ayuntamiento (town hall). In Madrid city it must be in force, signed by everyone named in it, last at least six months and include the cadastral reference.

Where do rent caps apply in Spain in 2026?

Caps apply only where a region has asked for, and obtained, a stressed-area declaration. The Ministry of Housing's list, reflecting its resolution of 24 July 2026, has zones only in:

RegionStressed areasIn force
CataloniaAbout 140 municipalities including Barcelona, plus about 130 added later16 March 2024 – 16 March 2027; the later group 10 October 2024 – 10 October 2027
Basque CountrySan Sebastián, Bilbao, Vitoria-Gasteiz and towns such as Barakaldo and IrunSan Sebastián 30 July 2025 – 30 July 2028; Bilbao and Vitoria-Gasteiz 31 October 2025 – 31 October 2028
NavarrePamplona, Tudela, Burlada, Barañáin and others30 July 2025 – 30 July 2028
GaliciaA Coruña; Santiago de Compostela30 July 2025 – 30 July 2028; 30 July 2026 – 30 July 2029
AsturiasParts of Gijón and Avilés, plus Llanes, Cabrales and Luanco (Gozón)30 July 2026 – 30 July 2029
Madrid, Valencia, Andalusia and all other regionsNone on the list–

Source: Ministerio de Vivienda y Agenda Urbana (Ministry of Housing), read 23 September 2026.

In a stressed area, a new lease's rent may not exceed the last rent under a primary-residence lease on the same home in the previous five years, after its annual update. At most 10 per cent more is allowed for recent refurbishment, energy-saving or accessibility works, or a lease of ten years or more. If the landlord is a gran tenedor (large holder, with more than 10 residential properties or more than 1,500 m² of residential space), the state reference price index caps the starting rent. When your extensions run out, you can ask for up to three more years on the same terms.

What are your rights when renting in Spain?

Everywhere in Spain, the Ley de Arrendamientos Urbanos (LAU, the tenancy law) applies. Since 26 May 2023, the landlord pays estate-agency fees and the cost of drawing up the contract.

RuleWhat the LAU says
Minimum termFive years (seven with a company landlord); a shorter lease renews yearly unless you give at least 30 days' notice
Leaving earlyAfter six months, with 30 days' notice; the contract may set one month's rent per remaining year as compensation
After the minimum termThe landlord gives at least four months' notice, you at least two; otherwise yearly extensions for up to three years
Deposit (fianza)One month's rent in cash; extra guarantees of at most two months' rent
Deposit backStatutory interest if not returned within a month of handing back the keys
Paying rentElectronically, normally in the first seven days of the month; never more than one month in advance
Rent risesOnce a year, if the contract says so; for contracts signed after 26 May 2023, capped by INE's IRAV index – 2.47 per cent for August 2026

Source: Ley de Arrendamientos Urbanos (BOE), Ministerio de Vivienda y Agenda Urbana and INE, read 23 September 2026.

In some regions the landlord must lodge the deposit with a public body: the Agencia de Vivienda Social in the Comunidad de Madrid (compulsory and free), INCASÒL in Catalonia and the Dirección General de Tributos y Juego in the Comunitat Valenciana.

Short lets and red flags

A landlord who wants more than one month's rent in advance, cash only, or guarantees above the legal limits is asking for more than the law allows. In Barcelona, temporary leases for work or study follow the housing rules on deposit and rent, while stays of 31 days or less are presumed tourist use and need a tourist licence.

How fast are rents rising in Spain?

Rental marketRent rise in 2024Rise since 2015
Spain (excluding the Basque Country and Navarre)3.5%–
Comunitat Valenciana / Andalusia / Catalonia5.0% / 3.8% / 3.1%–
València city5.9%36.4%
Madrid city3.6%22.6%
Barcelona city3.3%24.6%

Source: INE (national statistics institute), rental housing price index for 2024, published 11 May 2026, read 23 September 2026.

House prices are climbing fast: INE's index was 12.2 per cent higher in the second quarter of 2026 than a year earlier.

Aged 18 to 35? The state Bono Alquiler Joven (youth rent aid) pays €250 a month for two years, generally for incomes below three times the IPREM (public income indicator) and rents of up to €600. You apply through your region, except in the Basque Country and Navarre; the ministry's page still refers to the 2022–2025 housing plan, so ask whether a 2026 call is open.

Buying a home in Spain: which taxes apply in your region?

A new home from a developer carries VAT at the reduced 10 per cent rate (the general rate is 21 per cent) plus regional stamp duty (AJD); a resale home carries the regional transfer tax (ITP) instead.

TaxComunidad de MadridCataloniaComunitat Valenciana
Resale transfer tax (ITP)6%; 4% for large families; 10% off the tax on a main home worth up to €250,000Since 27 June 2025: 10% up to €600,000, 11% to €900,000, 12% to €1.5 million, 13% above; 20% for large holders9%, or 11% above €1 million (10% before the Ley 5/2025 reform)
Young buyers, main homeUnder 35: 100% off in municipalities under 2,500 inhabitants, since 29 November 202435 or under, and large or single-parent families: 5%, with income limitsUnder 35, first main home: 6% up to €180,000, 8% above, with income limits
Stamp duty (AJD) on the deedIndividuals buying a home: 0.4% up to €120,000, 0.5% to €180,000, 0.75% above1.5% on new homes0.1% on a main home, otherwise 1.4%

Source: Comunidad de Madrid, Agència Tributària de Catalunya, Ley 13/1997 of the Generalitat Valenciana (BOE) and Ley 37/1992 del IVA (BOE), read 23 September 2026.

Buying in Andalusia or another region? Check the rates with that region's tax agency. In Madrid, the Mi Primera Vivienda programme helps buyers borrow up to 100 per cent of the value; since an order of 27 July 2026 it is open to people up to 50, with a €425,000 price ceiling.

Mortgages and the end of the golden visa

Under Ley 5/2019, the lender must give you the FEIN (a binding standardised offer) and the draft contract at least 10 calendar days before signing, and a notary of your choice advises you free of charge. You pay the valuation; the lender pays the gestoría (paperwork agency), the notary for the loan deed and the land registry.

Buying no longer brings residence: only golden visa applications filed before 3 April 2025 follow the old rules, though existing permits stay valid.

What to do now

StepWhatWhen
1Check the Ministry of Housing's stressed-area listBefore you negotiate
2Check the contract will work for the padrónBefore you sign
3Pay one month in advance at most, electronically; get a deposit receiptWhen you sign
4Register on the padrón with contract and rent receiptOnce you have moved in
5Check any rent rise against the IRAVEach contract anniversary
6Buyers: compare regional ITP and AJD; get the FEIN10 days before a mortgage signing

Source: Ley de Arrendamientos Urbanos, Ministerio de Vivienda y Agenda Urbana, Ayuntamiento de Madrid and Ley 5/2019 (BOE), read 23 September 2026.

Official sources

The official pages this guide is based on, read 23 September 2026. Links open the authority’s own website.

Relocate in Europe provides general information, not legal or financial advice for your individual situation. Check with the authority named above before you act – rules change, and your case may differ.