Can the tenant sublet the flat or a room?

Question

José Manuel Alburquerque · Accepted Answer

The tenant can sublet part of the flat, that is, let to someone else a room in the flat that he or she rents, but only with the landlord's written consent. The whole flat cannot be sublet, not even with permission. With written permission, what the tenant can do is assign the tenancy agreement, which means that someone else becomes the tenant in his or her place. If the tenant sublets or assigns without that permission, the landlord can ask the court to bring the tenancy to an end and recover the flat. The rules on subletting It must involve only part of the flat, such as one or more rooms. The landlord's permission must be given in writing beforehand. The rent for the sublet cannot exceed the amount corresponding to the tenancy. The law does not make clear whether this means the whole rent or the share for the room, so the prudent course is not to charge more than that share. The sublet ends, in any event, when the tenant's tenancy ends, whatever the subtenant's agreement may say. If it is done without permission Subletting or assignment without consent is one of the grounds on which the law allows the landlord to seek termination of the contract, that is, to have it brought to an end for breach. Before suing, the law requires the landlord to attempt negotiation. If the court brings the tenant's tenancy to an end, the subtenant will also have to leave, even if he or she has paid. Letting rooms or the whole flat to tourists through online platforms without the landlord's permission is also unauthorised subletting or assignment. In addition, tourist use requires its own administrative authorisation. Rooms after the 2026 reforms Since 8 October 2026, the “Ley de Arrendamientos Urbanos” (LAU), Spain's urban tenancies act, has expressly stated that the letting of a room is a residential tenancy, with all its rules. That refers to the landlord who lets the rooms directly, with a separate agreement for each one. A tenant who lets a room in his or her flat is subletting and still needs the landlord's written permission. In Catalonia, the housing act applies the rent limits for stressed residential market areas (“zonas tensionadas”) to any arrangement that gives someone exclusive use of a room, including subletting. Stressed residential market areas are those the public authorities designate as such because of what housing costs there. Catalan law also requires the statutory deposit (the “fianza”) to be lodged with the “INCASÒL”, the Catalan government body that holds tenancy deposits. The details of the tenancy agreement are also registered there.