What is the minimum term of a residential tenancy agreement?
Five years if the landlord is an individual and seven if the landlord is a legal entity, such as a company. The agreement can be signed for a shorter period, for example for one year, but when it expires it is automatically extended, year by year, until it reaches that minimum. The minimum binds the landlord and not the tenant, who can choose not to renew it at the end of each year by giving thirty days' notice. This is laid down in the “Ley de Arrendamientos Urbanos” (LAU), Spain's urban tenancies act, which is a national law and applies in the same way in Catalonia.
Alburquerque Abogados
José Manuel AlburquerqueHow it is counted
The term runs from the date of the agreement or, if the home was handed over later, from the handover of the keys. If there is a dispute about when they were handed over, it is the tenant who has to prove it.
An agreement signed for one year or for three is not void. It is extended every year until it reaches five or seven years. If it says nothing about the term, it is deemed to have been signed for one year, with the same extensions. If a longer term was agreed, it lasts for the agreed term.
For example, a one-year agreement signed on 1 March 2026 with a landlord who is an individual is extended every 1 March until 1 March 2031, when it reaches five years, unless the tenant gives notice beforehand that they do not wish to continue. Once that minimum has been reached, the agreement can continue with further extensions if nobody gives notice that they do not wish to renew it.
The tenant can leave earlier
The minimum protects the tenant, who is not obliged to stay for all that time. The tenant can choose not to renew at the end of each year by giving thirty days' notice. In addition, once the first six months have passed, the tenant can leave at any time with the same notice. In agreements signed since 8 October 2026 this costs the tenant nothing. In earlier ones the tenant may have to pay whatever compensation has been agreed.
The landlord, on the other hand, can only end the agreement early in specific cases, such as non-payment of the rent or, if the landlord is an individual and the agreement provides for it, the need for the landlord, their children or their parents to live in the home.
Agreements with other rules
- A temporary residential tenancy does not have this minimum. It is the kind signed because the tenant has to live away from home for a time, for example for a job or a course of study. That reason must be genuine and must be stated in the agreement. If not, the agreement is treated from the outset as a residential tenancy of a main home, with its five or seven years. Seasonal lettings signed before 8 October 2026 continue, in principle, under their own rules until they end.
- In agreements signed since 8 October 2026, the minimum also applies to renting a room that the tenant lives in. It also applies to homes of more than 300 square metres or with an annual rent of more than 5,5 times a year's Spanish minimum wage (the “salario mínimo interprofesional”), for which a different term could previously be agreed.
This answer is provided for educational purposes and offers initial guidance on the question raised. Every matter has its own circumstances and nuances that require individual assessment. For that reason, before taking decisions with significant consequences, it is advisable to consult a professional and not to rely solely on this information. Personalised advice makes it possible to apply these explanations to the specific case and to assess the options available with greater certainty.