When is seasonal letting allowed now?

Question

José Manuel Alburquerque · Accepted Answer

Since 8 October 2026, only when the tenant is temporarily away from their main home for a justified reason that can be proved, such as a work posting in another city, a course of study or medical treatment. That reason must be stated in the contract and it is for the landlord to prove it. The contract is now called a temporary residential tenancy (“arrendamiento de vivienda temporal”) and is no longer governed mainly by what the parties have agreed but by the rules that protect residential tenants, although without the five-year minimum term. In Catalonia, the reason and the document proving it are also lodged, together with the statutory deposit (the “fianza”), with the “INCASÒL”, the Catalan public body that holds tenancy deposits. If they are not recorded there, the tenancy is presumed to be a tenancy of a permanent home, with all that this entails. Which reasons qualify The law does not give a closed list. What it requires is that the tenant needs the home for a period for a specific reason, while keeping their main home somewhere else. These reasons, for example, qualify: A temporary work posting or a professional project in another city. A course or a period of study. Medical treatment or care. Building work on the tenant's own home. It is no use for someone who has come to stay, even if they sign for a few months, because they have no other home from which they are away. Nor is it enough to write down any reason. It must be genuine and capable of proof, so it is advisable to ask for and keep the document that supports it, such as the letter confirming the posting, the proof of enrolment, the medical report or the building permit. The contract must last more than 31 days and, as a general rule, no more than twelve months. For holidays of more than a month, the national law does not make clear whether they qualify as a temporary tenancy, so it is advisable to take advice before signing. What Catalan law adds In Catalonia, since January 2026, the rules that Law 11/2025 added to the Catalan law on the right to housing also apply: Any tenancy that serves as somewhere to live is a tenancy of a permanent home, however long it lasts. The only exceptions are tenancies for holidays, leisure or tourism, provided that the contract says so expressly. Temporary tenancies for work, study, medical care, waiting to move into a home or other similar reasons follow the rules on residential tenancies as regards the statutory deposit, guarantees, the rent, rent increases and expenses. The contract must state what the property is let for and how this is proved. The document proving it is lodged with the deposit in INCASÒL's register of deposits. If no other use is shown in that register, the tenancy is presumed to be a tenancy of a permanent home, with its minimum term and extensions. In stressed residential market areas (“zonas tensionadas”), those declared as such because of the difficulty of accessing housing, such as Barcelona and much of Catalonia, a temporary tenancy is subject to the same rent limits as any residential tenancy. This law has been partly challenged before the “Tribunal Constitucional”, Spain's Constitutional Court, but the challenge does not suspend it and it applies today. Contracts signed before 8 October Seasonal tenancy agreements signed before that date keep the rules they had until the end of the agreed term and then come to an end, with no extension. If they are renewed, the renewal must now comply with the new rules, with its reason, its maximum term and its rent limit. In Catalonia, those signed since January 2026 already had to comply with the Catalan rules on rent, the deposit and expenses.