What is legal and what is not when you rent a property?

Today we review the most important questions that tenants have to take into account when renting a property, whether it is legal to pay for visiting a flat or what bank documents (guarantee, movements, etc.) or deposit the landlord can demand.

Is it legal to charge for a visit to the rented flat?

In contracts for the tenant's habitual or permanent residence, the landlord will be responsible for the property management costs and the costs of formalising the contract. All this taking into account article 20 of the Ley de Arrendamientos Urbanos.

On the other hand, contracts for use other than as a habitual residence or those that are seasonal, operate according to the freedom of agreement between the parties.

What documents can the tenant request from the tenant of a property?

The documents that the landlord may request when formalising a rental agreement are, on the one hand, the identification document of the interested party, such as the ID card or work and/or residence permit, and, on the other hand, the documentation that verifies the economic capacity of the future tenant (payslips, employment contract, etc.).

What is the maximum amount of deposit and monthly payments that can be required?

The Ley de Arrendamientos Urbanos considers that a deposit equivalent to one month's rent must be demanded and paid in cash. When the rental contract ends, the amount must be returned to the tenant one month after the keys to the property have been handed over.

We would like to point out that article 36 of the Ley de Arrendamientos Urbanos (Law on Urban Leases) allows an additional guarantee to be agreed in addition to the security deposit, which in no case may exceed two months' rent. 

Is it legal to ask the future tenant for a guarantee from the father or mother in order to rent a property? What about their banking transactions?

The landlord can ask for a bank or personal guarantee to guarantee the fulfilment of the tenant's obligations. However, it is not correct to ask for the bank details because, in order to justify their economic capacity, it can be done with other documentation such as a payslip or the last income tax return.

What is the minimum and maximum duration of a rental contract?

A distinction must be made between contracts for use other than as a regular or seasonal home, which are governed by the will of the parties, and contracts for regular or permanent housing, which are regulated by the Law on Urban Leases.

In the case of student contracts, there are situations in which students sign habitual residence contracts (long term) and others in which they sign seasonal contracts (only for the duration of the university or academic year).

In regular housing contracts, a long-term contract is valid (as long as it is not indefinite). When the term is less than 5 years (if the owner is a natural person) or 7 years (if the owner is a legal entity) when the contract expires, the contract must be extended in annual instalments until it reaches this term, unless the tenant informs the landlord (at least 30 days before the expiry date) that he does not intend to remain in the rented property.

In this way, the landlord will be legally obliged to extend the lease until the duration of the lease reaches 5 years (natural person) or 7 years (legal entity). However, after this legal extension period, the landlord may refuse to renew the lease provided that he informs the tenant four months in advance.

If this notice of termination is not given, the lease is extended for a further 3 years unless the tenant does not wish to renew it.

After the 5-year and 3-year extensions, if neither of the parties gives notice of termination, the tacit renewal of the Civil Code would operate, i.e. it would be renewed from year to year or from month to month depending on whether the rent is fixed on a monthly or annual basis.

Room in a shared flat: rental contract between several people How should it be formalised?

Although it is possible to sign separate individual contracts with each tenant, it is also possible to formalise a single rental contract between all the tenants and the property, which can be temporary if it is for a single school year, or for a habitual residence, if that is what the tenants need.

In this sense, there is no need for an express agreement of solidarity when it is evident from the content of the contract that this is the will of the contracting parties. For example, if there is an agreed rental unit, it is not necessary for the contract to contemplate the distribution of the dwelling in such a way that its use is presented as single and indivisible.

Rules or limitations can be established regarding the use of the common areas of the property when it is rented to several people. You can also implement the renting of a room with the right to use the kitchen or bathroom, for example. An important condition to include would be the condition relating to visits received, so that the use that other tenants can make of these areas is not impaired or limited.

In case of termination of the agreement, how much notice should be given?

In habitual residence contracts, the tenant must give the landlord at least one month's notice, and must do so from the sixth month of the contract, a period that is obligatory for the tenant. 

If one of the tenants leaves, do the rest of the tenants have to pay the price paid by that person until there is a replacement or are they not obliged to pay it?

If all tenants have signed the lease, all tenants are jointly and severally liable for the payment of the rent as well as for the contractual legal obligations, unless otherwise agreed.