To evict a commercial tenant, do you have to meet the same requirements as for a home (prior negotiation, vulnerability, large-scale landlords)?

Negotiating first, for commercial premises too

The “Ley Orgánica 1/2025”, Spain's act on the efficiency of the justice system, requires an attempt to reach an agreement in civil disputes generally and does not exclude possession claims. The “Audiencia Provincial” of Barcelona, the provincial appeal court, in its agreed criteria of 31 October 2025, requires it in possession claims for non-payment and at the end of the term. It does not accept a mere demand for payment, even though such a demand serves to prevent the tenant from stopping the eviction by paying. Some Catalan courts, such as the Audiencia of Girona, scrutinise the content, the form and the timing of the attempt:

• It must be a genuine negotiation, with specific proposals, such as a payment schedule or an agreed departure. A generic letter, or one that merely intimidates, is not enough.
• The tenant must be given a reasonable time to reply and the attempt must be made reasonably in advance of the claim.
• It must be capable of proof, by means of a “burofax” (a certified letter with proof of content), an e-mail with acknowledgement of receipt, a notarial record (“acta notarial”) or the record of a mediation.
• What is negotiated must match what is later sought in the claim.

The demand for payment and the proposal can go in the same burofax if the proposal is genuine. In a possession claim at the end of the term, a clear demand for the tenant to leave the premises, with an offer to discuss timing or conditions, may be enough.

Vulnerability and large-scale landlords

The protections for vulnerable tenants and the burdens on large-scale landlords apply to principal residences:

• The suspension of evictions of vulnerable people with no alternative housing, in place from 8 October 2026 until 31 December 2030, does not apply to commercial premises.
• Nor does extraordinary reinstatement of the tenancy (“enervación extraordinaria”), in which the public authorities pay the debt of a vulnerable residential tenant or offer the tenant another home.
• The Catalan obligation on large-scale landlords to offer social rent before suing applies to homes.
• The requirement for a large-scale landlord to attempt conciliation or intermediation by the public authorities first when the tenant is vulnerable was struck down by the “Tribunal Constitucional”, Spain's Constitutional Court, in its judgment 26/2025 of 29 January. It did not apply to commercial premises.

What does still apply is that the claim must state whether the property is the principal residence of whoever occupies it and whether the claimant is a large-scale landlord. Without that statement it is not admitted. For commercial premises, the claim must say that they are nobody's home and make clear whether or not the landlord is a large-scale landlord. It is a different matter if someone is actually living in the premises. The law refers to the principal residence of the person occupying the property, so in that case it is advisable to seek advice before suing.

What commercial premises and homes have in common

• Ordinary reinstatement of the tenancy (“enervación”). The tenant can stop a possession claim for non-payment once only, by paying everything owed within the ten days given by the court. The tenant cannot do so if the landlord demanded payment by a means that provides reliable proof at least thirty days before the claim and the tenant did not pay.
• The prohibition on removing the tenant yourself, by changing the locks or cutting off the utilities.