How can I avoid eviction if I cannot pay the rent?

Question

José Manuel Alburquerque · Accepted Answer

Talk to the landlord as soon as possible and propose in writing a payment plan or a date for leaving the flat, because since April 2025 the landlord must try to reach an agreement before bringing a claim. If you are sued, you can stop the eviction by paying everything you owe within the ten days the court gives you, although only once and unless the landlord demanded payment by “burofax” (a certified letter with proof of content) or another means that leaves a record at least thirty days before bringing the claim. Also go to your town council's social services, without waiting for the claim to arrive. If you are in a vulnerable situation, the judge can suspend the eviction and, since 8 October 2026, the public authorities have two months to pay the debt for you or offer you another home. Before you are sued Write to the landlord and propose something specific, such as paying the debt in instalments, a reduction for a few months or leaving the flat on a given date in exchange for the landlord writing off what you owe. Make an appointment with your town council's social services and, in Barcelona, with the housing offices. Ask about rent assistance and emergency grants. If there is a court case later, the court will ask them to assess your situation. It is in your interest that by then they already know your case. If you are at risk of housing exclusion because of your income, have no other home and the landlord is a large-scale landlord (“gran tenedor”), as the law calls someone who owns many homes, whether a company or a private individual, in Catalonia the landlord must offer you social rent before suing you for non-payment. If the landlord does not, you can report this to the public authorities, although that does not stop the court case. If you have already been sued Read the court's demand carefully. It gives you ten days to pay, leave the flat or oppose the claim. It also sets the date of the hearing if you oppose the claim and, if you do not, the date of the eviction (the “lanzamiento”), which is the day on which the court bailiffs would remove you from the flat. If you cannot afford a lawyer, apply for legal aid (“justicia gratuita”) within three days of the court's demand. If you can raise the money, you can use “enervación”, that is, stop the eviction by paying within those ten days everything claimed and whatever you owe at that point. The tenancy continues. This is not possible if you have already done so in a previous eviction or if the landlord demanded payment by burofax at least thirty days before bringing the claim and you did not pay before the claim was filed. If in the claim the landlord offers to write off the debt, or part of it, if you leave the flat within a set time, consider it. It may be the least costly way out for you. Make sure you collect the notifications and attend the hearing. If you cannot be found, the court can serve you by edict, with an official notice. The proceedings continue without you. If you are in a vulnerable situation Vulnerability is assessed by the social services, mainly on the basis of the family's income and how much of it goes on rent. Minor children or dependent people living in the home also count. If the flat is your principal residence, the court notifies the social services. If they confirm the vulnerability, the judge can suspend the eviction for up to two months if the landlord is an individual or up to four if it is a legal entity, such as a company. Since 8 October 2026, in evictions for non-payment, the public authorities also have two months to pay what you owe or offer you suitable housing. In the meantime, the proceedings are put on hold. If the authorities pay, the tenancy continues. If they do neither, they become the debtor in your place, there is no eviction and the tenancy runs to the end of its term as long as your situation lasts. If this does not apply, the judge can suspend the eviction of vulnerable people with no other home, with periodic reviews and, in general, for a maximum of three years. The suspension does not wipe out what you owe.