Royal Decree-law 29/2026: what changes in renting with the new housing decree (2026 guide)

In this guide we explain what changes, what does not and what you should do, whether you are a landlord, a tenant or you work at a letting agency.

Is Royal Decree-law 29/2026 already in force?

Yes. It has been in force since 8 October 2026, except for some tax measures with their own date. It also applies to eviction proceedings already under way, including scheduled evictions that have not yet been carried out.

It must be validated by the Standing Committee (Diputación Permanente) of the Congress within 30 days of its approval (6 October). If it is not validated, it is repealed and ceases to apply from that moment. You can read the text in the BOE.

If you are interested in the automatic renewal of contracts in cycles of 5 or 7 years, that is regulated by another law approved on the same day: we explain it in our guide to Royal Decree-law 28/2026.

The essentials of the new rental law in one minute

• Evictions: if the tenant is vulnerable, in evictions for non-payment the public administration has 2 months to pay the debt and legal costs or provide another home; in other cases, if there is no alternative housing, the eviction may be suspended for up to 3 years (with no such limit if the claimant is a fund), with this regime in force until 2030. It already applies to ongoing proceedings.
• Extraordinary extension of up to 2 years for tenants who have been up to date with payments during the previous 8 months.
• Rent increases: until the end of 2027, without a new agreement the rent cannot rise by more than 2 %, and not at all if it exceeds the reference index.
• Agency fees: management and formalisation costs cannot be charged to the tenant, either directly or indirectly.
• Guarantees: the tenant cannot be required to take out rent default insurance or any similar product. The Finaer Guarantee remains valid as a voluntary option, because it is a civil-law guarantee (a surety regulated by the Civil Code).
• Tenant moving out: without a signed exit document, the property is presumed to have been returned in good condition.
• Advertising: rental listings must include new mandatory information.

Evictions with a vulnerable tenant

Non-payment with a vulnerable tenant

Once vulnerability has been proven, the public administration is notified and has 2 months to offer another home or pay the entire debt claimed and accrued, plus legal costs. In the meantime, the proceedings are suspended.

If the administration pays, the proceedings end and the contract continues. If it does not pay, it becomes the debtor and there is no eviction for as long as the vulnerability lasts. It does not apply if the claimant is a housing acquisition fund.

Other evictions with a vulnerable tenant

Until 2030 they may be suspended until alternative housing is available, with an annual review and a maximum of 3 years (with no such limit if the claimant is a housing acquisition fund). It does not apply if the landlord is a natural person with 2 or fewer homes. If the eviction is suspended, the landlord who is a natural person (or the legal entity dedicated to affordable or social rental) may receive public compensation for rent, utilities and legal costs.

Extraordinary extension and rent increases

Extraordinary rental extension of up to 2 years

It applies to contracts in force for primary residences whose mandatory extension ends before 31/12/2028, or whose tacit extension or tacit renewal (tácita reconducción) comes to an end. The tenant must request it and be up to date with payments, including during the previous 8 months.

The landlord can avoid it if they need the property and give notice in time, by agreement, with a new contract or with a renewal at a rent at least 5 % lower. In stressed areas, the specific extension of up to 3 years takes precedence. From 15/11, with the entry into force of Royal Decree-law 28/2026, it does not apply when renewal by cycles applies.

Rent increases: 2 % cap until 31/12/2027

If the rent exceeds the reference index, there is no increase. In all other cases, what has been agreed applies and, without a new agreement, a maximum of 2 %.

Rent updates in general

Without an express agreement there is no update, and the IRAV (rental housing reference index) is always the cap. If you want to review how it is calculated, we explain it in Can my rent be increased every year?.

Renting by rooms

The total rent of the rooms cannot exceed the rent of the whole property.

Contracts prior to May 2023

They can benefit from the extraordinary extensions provided by law (for vulnerability with a large holder and in stressed areas) and their rent update is subject to the IRAV cap. In all other respects they keep their own regime.

Expenses, agency fees, advertising and sale

Letting agency fees: not paid by the tenant

Management and formalisation costs cannot be passed on to the tenant, either directly or indirectly. This includes preparing, formalising, managing, amending or renewing the contract.

Optional services

Other non-essential services can only be charged to the tenant if they request them in writing, having been informed beforehand that they are optional and of their cost.

Who pays the IBI and the community fees

The IBI (property tax) and other taxes on the property cannot be passed on to the tenant, unless the tenant is the taxpayer. Without a horizontal property regime, no community fees are charged.

What rental listings must include

Listings must be truthful and complete and include, where applicable:

• The price reference index, if the property is in a stressed area.
• In areas with a legal rent limit, that limit and its legal basis.
• The property's registration number or identification code.
• Whether the landlord is a large holder.

Sale of rented properties

The tenant keeps their pre-emption and repurchase rights (tanteo y retracto) even if the property is sold together with others, provided it can be legally individualised, with a price allocated according to objective criteria. Waiving these rights can no longer be agreed.

In addition, until 31/12/2030, entities that buy properties or portfolios of non-performing mortgage loans far below their value and legal entities that are large holders cannot acquire housing free of charge or for less than 70 % of its market value, set by an independent valuation, except in certain cases (use as affordable or social housing for at least 7 years, among others).

Seasonal rentals, repairs and the tenant moving out

Seasonal rentals under the new law: now “temporary housing”

It is now called “temporary housing” (vivienda temporal): more than 31 days and, as a general rule, up to 12 months. It requires a genuine reason for being away from the primary residence, which must be stated in the contract, and the burden of proof lies with the landlord; otherwise, the contract is a primary residence contract from the moment it is signed.

Exceeding one year without cause or chaining more than two contracts between the same parties for the same property has the same effect, from the first of them. Those signed before 8/10 keep their regime until they end and terminate without extension.

Additional guarantee: maximums

For primary residences, a maximum of 2 monthly payments (contracts of up to 5 or 7 years). For temporary housing, a maximum of 1 monthly payment.

Repairs: deadlines for the landlord

For primary residences, if the tenant requests in writing, with a quote, a repair affecting habitability, safety or health, and the landlord does not respond within 15 calendar days or refuses without cause, the tenant may carry it out and deduct its cost from the following rent payments.

For temporary housing, the landlord must respond within 5 working days; otherwise, the tenant carries out the repair and claims it or deducts it from the following month's rent.

Rental exit document

When the contract ends, both parties must sign a document recording the condition of the property. Without it, or if it does not record any damage, the property is presumed to have been returned in good condition.

Rentals of up to 30 nights: 10 % VAT

From 1/12/2026, the rental of furnished housing for up to 30 nights is no longer exempt from VAT and is taxed at 10 %, unless it is the landlord's primary residence.

Early termination by the tenant

The tenant can leave after 6 months with 30 days' notice (for temporary housing, after 1 month with 10 days' notice). In new contracts, compensation for the landlord can no longer be agreed.

What does not change

• The legal deposit of one monthly payment for housing.
• The minimum term of the contract: 5 years, or 7 if the landlord is a legal entity.
• Eviction for non-payment follows its ordinary course when the tenant is not vulnerable, and the ordinary right to stop the eviction by paying (enervación) works in the same way.
• The cap of 2 monthly payments of additional guarantee for primary residences.
• An additional guarantee can still be agreed within the legal limits. What cannot be done is to require the tenant to take out rent default insurance or a similar product.

What improves for the landlord

• Defaulting tenants cannot request the extraordinary extension: it requires being up to date with payments during the previous 8 months.
• If the administration pays, it pays everything: debt, accrued rent and legal costs of the proceedings, with interest if it is late.
• Small landlords protected: a landlord who is a natural person with 2 or fewer homes is excluded from the suspension of evictions for reasons other than non-payment.
• Clearer rules on seasonal rentals, rooms and expenses, which reduce disputes with the tenant if the contract is well documented.
• Tax incentives: personal income tax (IRPF) reductions for individual landlords who keep or lower the rent, higher if it is below the reference index, and a 10 % deduction for tenants on low incomes.

If you are a landlord, you will find all the information on how to rent out with guarantees on our website.

What happens to your Finaer Guarantee

Your Finaer Guarantee keeps working in the same way and we support you through the changes.

• Voluntary, not imposed. The law prohibits requiring the tenant to take out rent default insurance or a similar product. Finaer is a guarantee that the tenant requests voluntarily, for the benefit of the landlord and their own. That is why it is always presented as an option, never as a requirement to rent.
• Separate from agency fees. The price of the guarantee is not a property management cost. It is a guarantee that the tenant takes out voluntarily and in writing, informed of its optional nature and its price, and it is not included in the agency's invoice.
• Exit document: nothing changes in your guarantee. Protection against damage stays the same. Finaer adapts to the new requirement and makes it easy to comply with at every key handover.
• If the contract gets longer, so does the guarantee. If the tenant takes the extraordinary 2-year extension, the Finaer Guarantee is extended with the contract and keeps protecting the landlord.
• Vulnerable tenant: the landlord keeps getting paid. Even if the eviction is suspended or the administration is slow to pay, Finaer keeps paying the rent to the landlord. Whatever needs to be claimed afterwards from the tenant or the administration is handled by Finaer's Legal Department.
• Non-payment and repairs. Before reporting a non-payment, it is worth checking whether the tenant requested any repair: a legitimate deduction for repairs is not a non-payment.
• Seasonal rentals: everything stays the same. The Finaer Guarantee remains available for temporary housing under the same conditions. You just need to draft the contract properly, making the reason for the temporary nature clear and justified.
• Tenants without income in Spain. For students or people with income abroad, Finaer continues to offer the guarantee with an additional payment that the tenant makes to Finaer as a counter-guarantee, not to the landlord as a lease guarantee, and which is returned at the end if there are no incidents. This way they can access a rental without needing another person to stand surety for them.

Recommendations if you are a letting agency

• Review your listings to include the mandatory information.
• Invoice your fees to the landlord and keep the tenant's optional services documented in writing.
• For seasonal rentals, write the reason in the contract and keep the supporting evidence.
• Add the exit document to your usual key handover procedure.
• Ask landlords to respond in writing to any repair request within 15 calendar days (5 working days for temporary housing).

If you are a letting agency, find out how to work with Finaer in Letting Agents.

Royal Decree-law 29/2026 timeline

Frequently asked questions about Royal Decree-law 29/2026

Conclusion

Royal Decree-law 29/2026 is already in force and changes day-to-day renting: an extension of up to 2 years, limited increases until 2027, agency fees paid by the landlord, stricter seasonal contracts and a mandatory exit document. For landlords, the key is to document everything properly. And if you rent with the Finaer Guarantee, you are still protected: the guarantee accompanies the contract at every extension and Finaer keeps paying the rent even if an eviction is suspended.