What documents can the landlord ask me for before letting me the flat?

Question

José Manuel Alburquerque · Accepted Answer

Those that serve to identify you and to check that you can pay the rent. The “Ley de Arrendamientos Urbanos” (LAU), Spain's urban tenancies act, does not provide a list, but data protection law requires that what you are asked for be adequate and limited to what is necessary. The usual documents are your DNI (Spanish national identity card) or NIE (foreigner's identity number) and proof of your income, such as your latest payslips, your employment contract, your pension or your latest income tax return. There is no reason why you should be asked for health data, details of your family life or your bank account transactions. What you will normally be asked for Your DNI or NIE. It is also needed for the agreement and, in Catalonia, to enter the agreement in the register of tenancy deposits. If you are an employee, your latest payslips and your employment contract. If you are self-employed, your latest tax returns. If you are a pensioner, your pension certificate. Your latest income tax return. What you should not be asked for Data about your health, religion, origin, sexual orientation or trade union membership. Details of your family life that have nothing to do with the tenancy. All the transactions on your bank account, or your entire employment history if a payslip is enough. Nor can you be turned down because of your origin, your sex, a disability or any other discriminatory ground. In Catalonia this is expressly prohibited both by the Catalan housing act (the “ley del derecho a la vivienda”) and by the equal treatment act (the “ley de igualdad de trato”). What happens to your documents They can only be kept for as long as they are needed. Those of applicants who do not get the flat must be deleted or destroyed. If the landlord has rent guarantee insurance, the insurer usually runs a credit check on the applicant. Since 8 October 2026 that insurance has had to be paid for by the landlord, but the check is carried out using your data, so you must be told who it is passed to and why. The letting agent handling the tenancy has the same obligations. If you are asked for data that is not needed or are not told what it is wanted for, you can complain to the “Agencia Española de Protección de Datos”, Spain's data protection authority. In turn, in Catalonia the landlord must attach to the agreement the certificate of habitability (“cédula de habitabilidad”), the official document showing the reference rent and, where applicable, the energy performance certificate.