How long do I have to claim the rent the tenant owes me?

Question

José Manuel Alburquerque · Accepted Answer

If the flat is in Catalonia, three years for each monthly payment, counted from when it should have been paid. That is the time limit set by the “Código Civil de Cataluña”, the Catalan Civil Code, for periodic payments. The Barcelona “Audiencia Provincial”, the provincial appeal court, applies it to rent. The five years under the Spanish Civil Code (“Código civil”) only apply outside Catalonia. The time limit is interrupted and starts again with a written claim, with a claim in court or if the tenant acknowledges the debt. How it is counted Each monthly payment has its own time limit, which starts when it falls due. For example, the rent for March 2024 can be claimed until March 2027 unless the time limit is interrupted before then. If you let time pass without doing anything, every month you lose the oldest rent payment. The time limit starts again from scratch with any of the following: A written claim to the tenant that leaves a record of the date and the content, such as a “burofax”, a certified letter with proof of content. A claim in court, including an application under the “proceso monitorio”, a fast-track procedure for debt claims. The tenant acknowledging the debt, for example in writing or by asking you for more time to pay. Other tenancy debts Service charges (owners' association fees) or utilities that the tenant had to pay each month also become time-barred after three years, because they are periodic payments. What is claimed at the end of the tenancy, such as damage to the flat, is subject in Catalonia to a general time limit of ten years. The guarantor can be asked to pay the debt he or she guarantees within the same time limit as the tenant. Outside Catalonia, the Spanish Civil Code allows five years, both for rent and, in general, for other debts. Do not wait until the last moment Even though you have three years, the longer you wait, the harder it is to recover the money, because the debt grows and the tenant may be left without income or assets. If you are not going to bring a claim straight away, send a written claim every so often, for example once a year, for everything owed up to that point. Before bringing a claim, the law requires an attempt at negotiation. You can propose it in that same letter.