This post is to highlight Articles of interest concerning residential letting from the Spanish Decree 29/1994 which outlines the "Urban Letting Laws" or "Ley de Arrendamiento Urbano 29/1994, de 24 de noviembre". This information is correct as of June 2018 and is not to be relied upon solely to support any legal proceedings. If you require legal advice or would like to take legal action, we recommend you get in touch with a lawyer.

Rental Deposits

Landlords can ask for no more than one month's deposit/bond.

Rental deposit cannot be increased until 3 years after the start date of the initial rental contract. The deposit can then be increased each time the contract is renewed but cannot exceed the amount of rent payable per month.

The deposit must be returned within 30 days of the tenant handing back the keys.

The deposit can be paid using an "Aval Bancario" or guarantee which is lodged with the bank; in cash  to the rental agent or landlord but advised by the government is to lodge it with a public anministration.

Rental Payments and Prices

Rent needs to be paid within 7 days of the due date.

The landord may only ask for one month's rental payment at a time.

If on a long term rental contract, upon renewal of the contract, the landlord may only increase the price by the "Índice de garantía de competitividad" (Spanish equivalent to the UK's National Prices Index). Click the link for the latest figure.

The landlord may temporarily increase the rent by 20% to pay for work done on the property which has been requested by the tenant. This work includes things like altering aesthetics and does not include work which is necessary to keep the property habitable or forms part of any mandatory maintenance requirements.

If the tenants sublet their property, the landlord has the right to increase their price by 10% if they are partially subletting or 20% if they are fully subletting.

Cancellation of Rental Contract by the Tenant

The tenant can give 30 days notice before the end of the contract.

The tenant may not cancel their contract within 6 months of the start date of their contract.

After 3 years, either landlord or tenant may give 30 days notice for the cancellation of their contract.

If the primary tenant decides to leave the property and there still remains a spouse, close family member or someone with a current or previous romantic relationship, the spouse/family member has the right to apply for the contract to be in their name within 30 days of the primary tenant leaving. The rent payable from the date the primary tenant leaves stands with the remaining spouse.

If the landlord is causing disturbances to the tenants inside the property.

Cancellation of Rental Contract by the Landlord

The landlord may cancel the contract by giving the tenant 2 months' notice if the landlord wants to use the property for themselves or family members as their primary residence. This can only be given after the first 12 months from the start date of their rental contract.

After 3 years, either landlord or tenant may give 30 days notice for the cancellation of their contract.

Landlords have the right to cancel their rental contract for the following reasons:

- Non payment of rent. Officially, request for rent must be made through the notary and the tenant has 10 days to produce the rent. If rent has not been paid, the landlord has the right to inititiate legal proceedings to evict the tenant who will lose their deposit.

- If the tenants do not comply with their contract, the landlord should first demand that they comply in writing. If the tenant continues not to comply to the terms in their contract, the contract may be cancelled. This can be due to non compliance with community rules, causing disturbances to neighbours, subletting without permission, damage to property or carrying out work without the consent of the landlord or carrying out dangerous or illegal activities inside the property.

Contract Duration

If the tenant is renting the property as their primary residential address, they should be given a long term rental contract - "Contrato de Arrendamiento de Vivienda". These contracts are for a minimum of 12 months. If the whole 12 months have lapsed, the contract is automatically renewed for a further 2 years.

If the tenant is renting for a period of between 3 to 12 months for purposes such as work placement or for rest and relaxation (not to be confused with vacation), they should be offered a temporary rental contract - "Contrato de Arrendamiento por Temporada".

No rental contracts may be given for less than 3 months as this is classed as a touristic let and may cause legal issues for the owner/landlord.

The rental starts on the start date outlined in the contract, not the date of the contract.

Repossesion or Sale of Rented Property

If the property which the tenants are renting is reposessed by the bank - the tenants must register their rental contract at Land Registry before the sale of the property completes. The bank is obliged to honour the remainder of your rental contract. (Unless there is an agreement made between tenant and original owner). Agreements usually require the current landlord offering some sort of economic compensation.

If the owners decide to sell their rented property, they must give notice by registered post and offer the tenants first refusal. The tenants must make an offer within 30 days of receiving the notification and have 6 months to complete the purchase from the date they made their offer and had it accepted.

If in the contract it states that the tenants are not entitled to first refusal, this must be honoured by the tenant as they have agreed on this private agreement. Usually the tenants and owner come up with their own agreement whether it be a form of compensation or extended notice.

Misc.

If maintenance work being carried out on the property lasts for longer than 20 days, the tenants are eligible for a discount on the rent payable. The discount is calculated by determining the percentage of the property which is inaccessible and subtracting that percentage from the rent.

If maintenance/construction work is being carried out on the property which makes the property uninhabitable, the tenant has the right to suspend their contract, vacate the property temporarily without paying the rent for the time the property is uninhabitable.

Remember, if you are looking for a Contents insurance, we can provide a year's contract for just €80! It is highly advisable that tenants take out a contents insurance as it also covers them for Public Liability up to €300,000.

Fill in our request form for a contents insurance quote here...

LANDLORDS: Remember, all income and costs generated from renting your property must be declared to the tax authorities. If you would like to speak to one of our advisors about this, please get in touch.

If you require legal assistance in Tenerife, we advise to our clients to get in touch with either of the two English speaking lawyers below:

Lawten Lawyers in Las Chafiras, Tenerife

Phone: 0034 922 735 937

Email: info@lawtenlawyers.com

HH Abogado in Las Chafiras, Tenerife

Phone: 0034 922 736 397

Email: abogadohh@hotmail.com

Disclaimer: This information is correct as of June 2018 and is not to be relied upon solely to support any legal proceedings. If you require legal advice or would like to take legal action, we recommend you get in touch with a lawyer.