Do you have to try to negotiate with the tenant before suing for eviction?

Question

José Manuel Alburquerque · Accepted Answer

Yes. Since 3 April 2025, before bringing a possession claim or claiming the rent owed, you must try to reach an agreement with the tenant, for example through negotiation in writing or mediation. The claim must be accompanied by proof of that attempt and, if it is missing, the court may ask for it to be remedied or refuse to admit the claim. The formal demand for payment that prevents the tenant from stopping the eviction by paying is not enough, because a genuine willingness to negotiate is required. If the tenant does not reply within thirty days or rejects the proposal, the claim can then be brought. What counts as an attempt to reach an agreement The law calls it a “medio adecuado de solución de controversias” (an appropriate means of dispute resolution) and allows several forms: Direct negotiation with the tenant, or through each side's lawyers. Conciliation before a notary, a land registrar, the court clerk (“letrado de la Administración de Justicia”) or the justice of the peace. Mediation. Others, such as a confidential binding offer, which binds the person making it if the other party accepts it, or the opinion of an independent expert. What is negotiated must match what is later sought in the claim. If the claim adds requests that were not raised beforehand, the court may consider that the requirement has not been met. What it must be like With a genuine willingness to negotiate. In Barcelona, the “Audiencia Provincial”, the provincial appeal court, requires this attempt in evictions for non-payment and at the end of the tenancy and considers that it is enough to offer, in good faith, to negotiate on a defined subject. The one in Girona also asks for specific proposals, such as a payment plan, a reduction of the debt or a date for leaving the flat. The prudent course is to include them. With a reasonable time to reply and shortly before the claim. A negotiation that took place long ago and was not followed up does not count. By a means that provides proof of sending, content and receipt, such as a “burofax” (a certified letter with proof of content), an email with acknowledgement of receipt, a notarial record (“acta notarial”) or the mediation record. If the tenant does not reply, it is enough to prove that he or she received it. If the tenant does not collect the burofax from the post office after being notified, that also counts. The formal demand for payment and the end of the tenancy The attempt to reach an agreement is not the same as the formal demand for payment that prevents the tenant from stopping the eviction by paying. The demand requires payment and warns that, if payment is not made, a claim will be brought. The negotiation seeks a way out in good faith. Both can be done in the same burofax, provided that it contains a genuine proposal and the two things are clearly distinguished. It is also required in evictions at the end of the tenancy. The Catalan courts are beginning to accept that it is enough to send a clear demand to leave the flat with an offer to discuss the timing or the terms, for example an extension, a new contract or an agreed date for moving out.