For a residential lease signed since 6 March 2019, notice counts at the end of the minimum term of five years (seven if the landlord is a company): the landlord must give at least four months' notice and the tenant two (art. 10 LAU). If nobody gives notice, the lease renews year by year for up to three more years. A decree-law awaiting validation would raise the landlord's notice to six months from 15 November 2026.
Check before you send. This autumn the government changed the rental rules by royal decree-law (real decreto-ley): a decree with the force of law that Congress has to validate or repeal within thirty days. As at 17 October 2026, Royal Decree-law 28/2026 has been published but neither validated nor repealed. Further down we set out what is in force, what is pending and the safe course while it is unclear. Look up the current wording in the BOE before you send any notice.
The notice periods at a glance
Before going into detail, this is the picture as at 17 October 2026 for a lease of a main home signed since 6 March 2019, under the Urban Leases Act (Ley de Arrendamientos Urbanos, LAU):
| Stage of the contract | Who wants to end it | Minimum notice | Rule |
|---|---|---|---|
| Within the minimum term (5 or 7 years) | Tenant | 30 days before the end date or the yearly renewal | Art. 9.1 LAU |
| Within the minimum term | Landlord | Cannot prevent the renewals, unless a need for the home was agreed | Art. 9.3 LAU |
| When 5 or 7 years are reached | Landlord | 4 months | Art. 10.1 LAU |
| When 5 or 7 years are reached | Tenant | 2 months | Art. 10.1 LAU |
| During the extension of up to 3 years | Tenant | 1 month before each yearly period ends | Art. 10.1 LAU |
All of these articles are in the consolidated text of the Urban Leases Act. Leaving before the end is a different thing, early termination (desistimiento): article 11.1 lets the tenant leave once at least six months have passed, giving thirty days' notice.
During the minimum term: the tenant decides
Article 9.1 leaves the length of the contract to what you agree. But if you agree less than five years (seven if the landlord is a company, a persona jurídica), when the end date arrives the contract is extended "obligatoriamente por plazos anuales" (compulsorily, by yearly periods) until it reaches that minimum.
Only the tenant can get out: they can choose not to renew by telling the landlord at least thirty days before the end of the contract or of any yearly extension.
The landlord cannot prevent those extensions. The exception is a need for the home: if the landlord is an individual, the first year has passed and the contract stated expressly that they might need the home for themselves, for first-degree relatives or for their spouse after a separation or divorce. They must give at least two months' notice and explain the reason (art. 9.3).
Be careful with temporary residential leases: section 9.4, added by Royal Decree-law 29/2026, takes them out of these rules and sends them to the new article 9 bis.
At the end of the minimum term: four months and two months
When the contract reaches five or seven years, either party can bring it to an end. Article 10.1 requires notice in advance:
- Landlord: at least four months before the end date.
- Tenant: at least two months before.
The law speaks of having "notificado a la otra" (notified the other) party. So the prudent approach is for the notice to arrive before the deadline, not just to be sent on that day. If you end up in court, whoever makes a claim has to prove the facts it rests on (art. 217 of the Civil Procedure Act, the Ley de Enjuiciamiento Civil, LEC), and the date the notice was received is one of them.
What happens if nobody gives notice in time
If neither party gives notice in time, the contract "se prorrogará obligatoriamente por plazos anuales hasta un máximo de tres años más" (will be compulsorily extended by yearly periods up to a maximum of three more years). During those years, the tenant can leave by giving one month's notice before the end of each year. The extended contract keeps the same terms (art. 10.4).
In addition, the tenant can ask for extraordinary extensions in two cases already set out in article 10: up to one year if they prove vulnerability and the landlord is a large holder (gran tenedor) (10.2), and up to three years if the home is in a stressed residential market area (zona de mercado residencial tensionado) (10.3).
And if all the extensions run out and the tenant stays in the home with your agreement, the Civil Code provides for tacit renewal (tácita reconducción): if the tenant stays on for fifteen days with the landlord's acquiescence and there has been no formal demand to leave, a new term is understood to begin (arts. 1566 and 1581 of the Civil Code), by months if the rent is monthly.
What may change from 15 November 2026
The law is moving fast this autumn, so it pays to separate what is in force from what is pending.
- Repealed. On 2 October 2026 Congress repealed Royal Decree-law 26/2026 and 27/2026, which also amended article 10.
- New attempt. On 7 October Royal Decree-law 28/2026 was published, with entry into force set for 15 November 2026. It changes article 10.1: the landlord would have to give six months' notice, the tenant would stay at two, and if nobody gives notice the contract would be extended for successive periods of five years (seven if the landlord is a company).
- Compensation. Under that text, a landlord who does not extend would have to compensate the tenant, except in the cases of the new article 10.2, which include the landlord, as an individual, needing the home for themselves or for relatives up to the second degree. Those cases "deberán hacerse constar de forma expresa, detallada y por escrito en la notificación de preaviso" (must be stated expressly, in detail and in writing in the notice).
- Transition. If on 15 November there are fewer than six months left until your end date, four months' notice is enough for the landlord. And notices of non-renewal validly given before 7 October 2026 keep their effect without compensation (sole transitional provision).
- Two-year extension. Royal Decree-law 29/2026, in force since 8 October, adds another extraordinary extension at the tenant's request, year by year and up to two years. It covers current contracts whose compulsory extension under article 9.1 ends before 31 December 2028, or that reach the end of their tacit extension or tacit renewal, provided the tenant is up to date with the rent and has been for the previous eight months (fifth final provision).
Both decree-laws have to be validated or repealed within thirty days of their promulgation (art. 86.2 of the Constitution). As Parliament (the Cortes) has been dissolved since 6 October (Royal Decree 806/2026), that vote falls to the Standing Committee (Diputación Permanente) of Congress (art. 78.2), and the deadline runs out in early November, before the 15th. As at 17 October, the BOE shows neither validation nor repeal, so the six months are not yet a safe rule.
What to do in the meantime:
- If you are a landlord and your end date falls after 15 November, follow the stricter period: give six months' notice if you still can.
- If on 15 November there are fewer than six months left until the end date, four months are enough under either text.
- Before you send the notice, check in the BOE which wording is in force.
Contracts signed before 6 March 2019
Older contracts are still governed by the law in force when they were signed. That is what the first transitional provision of Royal Decree-law 7/2019 and that of Law 4/2013 say, unless the parties agree to adapt them.
| Date signed | Minimum term | Notice at the end, for both parties | If nobody gives notice |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 January 1995 to 5 June 2013 | 5 years | One month | Yearly extension up to 3 more years |
| 6 June 2013 to 18 December 2018 | 3 years | 30 days | One more year |
| 19 December 2018 to 23 January 2019 | 5 years (7 if a company) | 30 days | Three more years |
| 24 January 2019 to 5 March 2019 | 3 years | 30 days | One more year |
You can check each wording in the BOE: the original 1994 version and the version after Law 4/2013. The window from December 2018 to January 2019 corresponds to Royal Decree-law 21/2018, which Congress repealed in January 2019. If your contract dates from those weeks, confirm it with a lawyer. Contracts from before 1995 have their own transitional provisions in the LAU.
Do the maths with the dates: unless you agreed a longer term, contracts in the first, second and fourth rows have already used up their legal extensions. If the tenant is still in the home, you may be in tacit renewal. Bear in mind that, if it is validated, Royal Decree-law 28/2026 would bring contracts in tacit renewal under the new article 10 from their first end date after 15 November 2026, counting all the time since the original contract towards the minimum (sole transitional provision, section 5).
Commercial premises, offices and other non-residential uses
Here the contract is in charge. Article 4.3 LAU says that these leases "se rigen por la voluntad de las partes" (are governed by the will of the parties), then by Title III of the Act and, last of all, by the Civil Code. The LAU sets no minimum term or notice period for them: look at the duration clause and the notices clause. If the contract says nothing, the Civil Code applies.
There is one important detail. If a retail business selling to the public has been carried on in the premises for the last five years, the tenant may be entitled to compensation when the contract ends because its term has expired. To qualify, the tenant must have stated, four months in advance, their wish to renew for at least five more years at market rent (art. 34). That notice from the tenant also needs to be provable.
How to give notice so that it counts
The LAU does not impose a specific method for the notice. What you need is to be able to prove what you said, to whom, and when it arrived. Follow this order:
- Read the contract. Look for the notices clause: postal address, designated email or agreed method. If the contract sets a channel, use it.
- If there is a designated email, comply with article 4.6. The parties can designate an email address for the notices under the Act, "siempre que se garantice la autenticidad de la comunicación y de su contenido y quede constancia fehaciente de la remisión y recepción íntegras y del momento en que se hicieron" (provided that the authenticity of the communication and its content is guaranteed and there is reliable proof of its complete sending and receipt and of when they took place).
- Use a burofax if there is a risk of dispute. That is a registered letter sent with a certified copy of the text and acknowledgement of receipt, to the address in the contract. If it comes back refused or uncollected, read what the courts say about a refused burofax.
- Send it with time to spare. Work back from the end date and add a few weeks for the unexpected.
- Keep everything. The proof of sending, the text you sent and any reply.
On email, tell two kinds of service apart. Qualified electronic registered delivery services, entered in the official list, carry a legal presumption of integrity, sender, recipient and date (art. 43.2 eIDAS; art. 326.4 LEC). Non-qualified ones are admissible evidence, but if they are challenged, whoever relies on them has to back them up with other evidence, and the judge weighs them by the rules of sound judgement (sana crítica) (art. 43.1 eIDAS; art. 326.2 and 326.3 LEC).
Remember that, for a designated email, article 4.6 asks for proof of the complete sending and receipt and of when they happened. A non-qualified service carries no legal presumption of any of that, so do not use it as your only channel if the tenant could dispute the notice.
Our Certified email service is of the second kind. It sends the document from your own domain and records, for each recipient, delivery, opening and download with date, time and IP address, with a SHA-256 fingerprint that can be checked on a public page. Despite the name, it is not a qualified eIDAS service, it is not legally certified (fehaciente) and it does not replace a burofax: use it as a second channel, above all when the tenant already deals with you by email.
If you manage many contracts, the usual problem is remembering in time. Renewals emails you before something falls due and checks every morning: set the date as the last day you can still give notice. In automation for estate agents we explain how it fits with the rest of the management work.
Template notice of non-renewal
Adapt this text to your case. If you are the tenant, swap the roles and the notice period. The template is in English so you can see what each part does; the Spanish wording is in the Spanish version of this article.
Subject: Notice of non-renewal of the lease of [address of the home]
[Place], [date]
Dear Mr/Ms [tenant's name],
As landlord of the home at [full address], let to you under a contract dated [date of the contract], I hereby notify you of my decision not to renew the contract when it expires on [end date], in accordance with article [9 or 10, as applicable] of the Urban Leases Act and clause [number] of the contract.
[Only if you rely on a legal ground: state it expressly and in detail, naming the people concerned.]
Please leave the home vacant and return the keys to me on [date], in the condition set out in the contract. I suggest we go round the home together that day to arrange the return of the deposit (fianza).
You can reply to me at [postal address or email in the contract].
Yours sincerely,
[Name, ID number (DNI or NIE) and signature]
Sources
- Law 29/1994 on Urban Leases, consolidated text, arts. 4, 9, 9 bis, 10, 11 and 34.
- LAU, original 1994 wording and wording after Law 4/2013.
- Royal Decree-law 7/2019, first transitional provision.
- Law 4/2013, first transitional provision.
- Royal Decree-law 21/2018.
- Royal Decree-law 28/2026, single article and sole transitional provision.
- Royal Decree-law 29/2026, art. 3 and fifth final provision.
- Repeal of Royal Decree-law 26/2026 and of Royal Decree-law 27/2026.
- Royal Decree 806/2026 of 5 October, dissolving the Congress and the Senate.
- Spanish Constitution, arts. 78 and 86.
- Civil Code, arts. 1566 and 1581.
- Law 1/2000 on Civil Procedure, arts. 217 and 326.
- Regulation (EU) 910/2014 (eIDAS), art. 43.
This article explains the law and published court criteria as of the update date. It is not a substitute for advice from a lawyer on a specific case.