Apart from the deposit, what guarantees can I be asked for on a commercial lease? Is there a limit?

Question

José Manuel Alburquerque · Accepted Answer

You can be asked for any guarantee agreed in the lease. With commercial premises there is no limit on the amount, because the two-month cap that the law places on additional guarantees only applies to residential tenancies. The usual options are a bank guarantee, a cash deposit in addition to the statutory deposit (“fianza”) or a guarantor, which may be the parent company or a shareholder. What you cannot be required to do since 8 October 2026, on the most straightforward reading of the law, is to take out rent guarantee insurance yourself, although the landlord can take out such insurance at his or her own expense. The usual guarantees A first-demand bank guarantee. The bank pays as soon as the landlord asks it to, without going into whether the debt exists. With an ordinary guarantee, on the other hand, the landlord has to prove the debt. A cash deposit in addition to the statutory deposit, which is returned at the end if there is nothing to deduct. A guarantor, an individual or a company that undertakes to pay if the tenant does not. Normally the guarantor is jointly and severally liable, that is, the landlord can claim directly from the guarantor without first going to the tenant. Rent guarantee insurance The October 2026 reform prohibits requiring the tenant to take out rent guarantee insurance or any similar cover. The rule is in the part of the law that applies to all tenancies and its wording does not limit it to residential tenancies, so the prudent view is that it also applies to commercial premises. The landlord can, however, take out that insurance and pay for it. The position is less clear for surety insurance, which the tenant takes out so that the insurer pays the landlord if the tenant does not and which is sometimes offered instead of a bank guarantee. Until there is a clear position, the prudent course is for it to be an option for the tenant rather than a requirement of the lease. If your lease was signed before 8 October 2026 and required you to take out rent guarantee insurance, that clause in principle remains valid until the lease is renewed. What to check before signing The maximum amount and the duration of the guarantee. Also whether it covers extensions of the lease. The fact that a guarantee given by a third party, such as a guarantor or the bank, stops covering anything owed afterwards if, when the lease ends, the tenant stays on in the premises and the tenancy is deemed renewed without anything being signed, which the law calls tacit renewal (“tácita reconducción”). The same does not apply to extensions provided for in the lease itself, if the guarantee covers them. When and how the guarantee is returned when the lease ends. Catalonia does not have its own limit on guarantees for commercial premises either.