If the flat was already let, can I ask the new tenant for more than the previous one paid?

Question

José Manuel Alburquerque · Accepted Answer

It depends on whether the flat is in a stressed residential market area (“zona tensionada”). Outside those areas, the rent under a new tenancy is unrestricted and you can agree whatever rent you like with the new tenant. In a stressed residential market area, such as Barcelona and much of Catalonia, it cannot exceed the last rent the previous tenant was paying, with the annual update provided for in that tenant's agreement, except for an extra 10 % in certain specific cases laid down by law. If you are a large-scale landlord (“gran tenedor”), it cannot exceed the reference rent index of the “Ministerio de Vivienda”, Spain's Ministry of Housing, either. Outside a stressed residential market area The rent under a new tenancy is unrestricted, even if the flat was let before, unless it is officially protected housing (“vivienda con protección oficial”), which has its own maximum rent. There are also two limits that apply throughout Spain: If you let by rooms, the total of the rents cannot exceed the rent for the whole flat. If you sign several temporary tenancies one after another for the same flat, the rent under each one cannot rise by more than the IRAV, the index published by the “INE”, Spain's national statistics institute, that caps annual rent updates, even if the tenant changes. In a stressed residential market area The limit goes with the home, not with the tenant. What counts is the last residential tenancy in force in the previous five years, even if the flat has been empty since. Since 8 October 2026 a temporary tenancy or a tenancy by rooms also counts. If the only tenancies in those years were seasonal ones signed before that date, it is doubtful whether they count. In that case, the prudent course is not to exceed the lower of the two limits, that rent or the index. Nor can you add fees or expenses that the previous tenant did not pay. You can only ask for up to 10 % more in these cases: If in the previous two years you completed a refurbishment, an energy-efficiency improvement saving at least 30 % in non-renewable primary energy or an accessibility improvement, provided you can prove it. If you sign a tenancy agreement for ten years or more, or give the tenant the right to extend it to that length. For example, if the previous tenant was paying 950 euros a month on leaving, the new agreement cannot exceed 950 euros, or 1.045 if one of those cases applies. How it is monitored and what happens if you ask for more In Catalonia, the advert and the new tenancy agreement must state the last rent or the maximum rent. The previous agreement is recorded, with its rent, in the deposit register (“Registro de fianzas”) of the “INCASÒL”, the Catalan public body that holds tenancy deposits, with which its statutory deposit (“fianza”) was lodged. The public authorities cross-check that data to detect rents above the maximum. If you ask for more than is allowed, the part of the rent above the maximum is void. The tenant can claim back from you any amount overpaid, although before suing the tenant will have to try to negotiate, as the law requires. In addition, setting a rent above the maximum in the agreement is an infringement of the Catalan housing act. It is serious if the difference is 30 % or less and very serious if it is greater.