Renting or letting

Renting or letting
Written by Per Svensson

You want to rent a dwelling in Spain, or you want to let out the dwelling you own yourself? Then you should know the letting laws and rules, not to make mistakes.

At the end of this information we have an article summing up the situation as per January 2007, for the foreigners in Spain when it comes to letting or renting.

In periods where sales are starting to slip, as they are now, the promoters and sales organisations are always coming up with certain additional arguments for buying. Lately we have detected the old sales pit of rental income being used again. We will recommend all foreign buyers to investigate any letting income calculation and even more a letting income guarantee very carefully. Hardly any of them holds water.
The hotel owners have difficulties filling their hotel beds with good paying clients, and they insist that the main reason is “the illegal tourist letting” of private dwellings. The authorities have promised that they will sharpen the legislation against such letting. You may get stuck with a property you bought to get a good letting income from.
Let us start this information by explaining three matters:
1) We do not discuss here lettings that started before 1st of January 1995. For such lettings, there are special rules.
2) In addition to the national law on letting (Ley de Arrendamientos Urbanos, number 29 of 1994) there now exist laws on lettings in some of the autonomous regions.
3) We can in this Short-Information just give what we consider to be the most important points for a foreign tenant or owner. If you want to be informed in more detail, we recommend the more complete Info-File, that will also keep you up to date on any changes.

Letting of a dwelling

The law differs between the letting of a dwelling, and other types of letting. A dwelling is normally your main residency. Other types of letting can be the letting of a garage, premises for business activities or cultural purposes, or it can be what we can call 'tourist letting' for shorter periods. However, if a dwelling has a garage, and this is mentioned in the contract, also the garage comes under the category of "dwelling".
The rules for the letting of a dwelling were changed with the new law that took effect from 1st of January 1995. The new law established a set of transition rules for the dwellings let out under previous legislation, and the new rules to be applied for the future.
For an owner, it is very important to know that a letting contract for a dwelling meant to last only for a year, can be prolonged for up to 5 years. This prolongation does not apply to a tourist letting, where the letting period is expressed in days, weeks or months, where the tenant does not bring any furniture or equipment and where he keeps his permanent dwelling somewhere else.
The only kind of dwelling exempt from this law is a "luxury dwelling" with more than 300 m2 or with an annual rent of more than 30.000 Euro. For such lettings the stipulations in the contract are deciding, and only if no contract exists, the stipulations of the law will apply.

The prolongation for 5 years


If a shorter period of letting has been agreed in the contract for a dwelling, but the tenant wants to extend it, he has the right to do so by staying put. If he wants to move out as agreed, he should notify the owner in writing 30 days before the agreed letting period ends. The 5 years starts from the day the tenant took possession of the dwelling.
The owner can refuse the automatic prolongation of a letting contract, if he needs the dwelling himself for permanent residency, and if this has been stated clearly in the letting contract. This only refers to the owner himself, not to his family, unless they live there with him.
Even after the 5 year period, the owner has to communicate in writing to the tenant that the contract will be terminated. If not, the tenant may stay for another year and so on for up to 3 additional years.
If the tenant wants to move before the end of the letting period agreed in the contract, he must communicate this to the owner and pay part of the rent for the remaining time, if this has been agreed in the contract. If the tenant only leaves the dwelling and stops paying, the owner has the right to sue him for damages.
In case of a prolongation of the letting, the rent can be adjusted in accordance with an inflation index published by the Government each year. The owner can only demand the higher rent after he has communicated the increase to the tenant in proper form.
You should also be aware that if you want to sell the dwelling while you have a sitting tenant in it, the tenant has a "derecho de tanteo", the right to buy the dwelling on the same conditions you offer to another buyer.

Careful with the "Tourist lettings"

A tourist letting is obviously not the letting of a permanent dwelling, and does not come under the law stipulations mentioned above. Instead, several of the autonomous regions have established special laws for tourist lettings. We recommend you find out the exact rules in the region of Spain where you have a property or want to rent an apartment or a house for vacations, to make sure it is done legally. In the following, we refer to the law on tourist letting in the Valencian region, number 30 of 1993, as an example.
According to this law, all owners who rent out apartments or houses for tourist purposes, must be registered with the Dirección General de Turismo in the Valencian government, or any of their local offices. The law contains certain quality requirements for the accommodation and the tourist authorities will make an inspection.
Also, the agencies habitually involved in letting out tourist accommodation must register their activity, and the properties they offer for rent. An owner who offers to rent more than 5 units, is considered an agent and must also register.
If an individual owner let out his apartment or house through an agency, the obligation to register the property for letting purposes rests with the letting agent, not with the owner.

Taxes on letting

If you make a letting contract for a permanent dwelling, and want to have the contract registered, you must first pay the tax called Impuesto de Transmisiones Patrimoniales (ITP). To pay this tax to the tax authorities of the regional government, you must first calculate the total rent for the period of time the contract stipulates. Then there is special scale for the taxes to be paid in accordance with the value of the contract. For an apartment rented out for one year at 600 Euro per month, the tax is only around 30 Euro.
But in addition to the ITP, the owner must also include the income from the letting on his yearly Income Tax Return (Renta) and is under the legal obligation to make regular tax payments to the Hacienda, depending on the form of letting.







2. LETTING – RENTING

There are no new national laws on letting over the last year directly affecting the foreign property owners, but an important change in practise, that you should be aware of, if you want to rent out your dwelling or let one.

A) As an owner of a property to be rented out, please take the following into account:

- You are free to make a long term letting contract for a dwelling, but should know that when the lessee has been sitting in it for a year, and has no other home, he has the right to continue the contract for another 4, or even 7 years. For details, see the information on Letting-Renting on our web page.

- To rent out a property for shorter terms, what is called “tourist letting, you must take into account the letting laws of your region, that normally foresee an authorisation. The Valencia region is preparing new legislation on tourist letting, with more control (due to strong pressure from the hotel lobby), and drastic fines for “illegal” letting. If you have a letting agent, he is the primary responsible for obtaining the authorisation and paying the taxes.

- More and more Communities of Owners are protesting against the renting out of residential dwellings to short term clients, creating noise and additional costs for maintaining the common elements. They may be the ones that report the illegal letting to the authorities.

- You must not let your dwelling stand empty for two years or more. The national government is considering permitting the raising of the local rates (IBI) 50% on what they consider empty dwellings. The regions of Catalonia and the Basque Country has passed such laws, and several other regions are considering doing so. The reasons for this policy is the great need for dwellings to let for young people.

B) As someone wanting to rent a dwelling for shorter or longer periods, we recommend the following:

- If you want to let for shorter periods, make sure the dwelling is approved for such lettings, to avoid problems in inspections to come. If you are just using the Spanish home of a friend or family member, be prepared to prove this.

- Should you want to let a dwelling for long term, permit that the owner writes into the contract the address of your main residency in your home country, to avoid the automatic extension. Should you want to stay for several years, this should be mentioned in the letting contract from the beginning.

C) The lessees do not pay any taxes, except the ones with a long term contract for a permanent dwellings, if they are staying more than 6 months per calendar year in this country. They are considered fiscal residents, even without a residence permit (or the replacement for it), if it cannot be proved that their main centre of life is in another country, where they pay their income taxes.

But the owner of the dwelling must pay taxes on the letting income. Tax inspection is extended and intensified, and tax fraud is no longer looked upon as a sport. And the excuse “I did not know” does not work any more, you are as owner of a dwelling obliged to inform yourself.

If you do short term letting (tourist letting) over a letting agency, the agent is the principal responsible for the registration of the property for this kind of letting, as well as the retention and payment of taxes due. But the owner has a subsidiary responsibility.

We know this is a sore point among some owners, as well as for the letting agents: If the agent is working correct and legal, he must inform the owners and insist that the property be registered and taxes paid. In such cases some owners will resist registration and tax payment and go to an agent not working legally. We must warn against such a practice. The questions you must ask yourself, are the following:

- Can I trust an agent breaking the laws with the letting income for my property?

- In case of a tax inspection, will the (often foreign) letting agent pack his suitcase and leave the problem to you, with your property as the security for taxes not paid over the last 4 years, the interest on the non-paid amounts, as well as fines for tax fraud?

D) When it comes to the new taxes, taking effect from 1sth of January

2007, we refer to the article about the taxes in this yearly report.

E) The national government ha set up an agency called SPAVIV (you find it www.spaviv.es) to promote the letting of dwellings. They, or their collaborating agents, can find you a lessee, and offer the following advantages for the owner:

The agency takes part in setting up a letting contract that is legal and fair (always for 5 years), guarantying the payment of the agreed monthly rent. If it is necessary to make repairs or improvement to the dwelling to make it fit for renting, the agency organise the repairs and finance their costs. And even more important: The agency guarantees that the dwelling will be in the same conditions when returned as when the letting started.

Since it may be that the sales market will be depressed for the coming years, with small chances to sell your dwelling at a price assuring a return on your money, it may be interesting to consider using the guarantees of the government and let it out for 5 years.

Contract for long term letting - Spanish text:

En ......, a ....... de ................. de.....

De una parte, don ..............., como ARRENDADOR, estado civil .... , profesión ......,

Nacionalidad..... , vecino de ........, con domicilio en .........., provisto de DNI/NIF/pasaporte nº

...............

De la otra, don ......................, como ARRENDATARIO, estado civil..... , profesión..... .,

Nacionalidad..... ., vecino de .........., con domicilio en ....................., provisto de

DNI/NIF/pasaporte nº ...................

Ambos son mayores de edad, y con capacidad legal, que mutuamente se reconocen.

A) Don .......................................... en su propio nombre y derecho.

B) Don ......................................... en nombre y representación de la compañía mercantil ..........

domiciliada en ................., de ............, en su calidad de .............., según consta en la escritura

de constitución de la referida sociedad, otorgada con fecha de .... de ............. de 19.... ante el

notario de ............, don..................... , e inscrita en el Registro Mercantil de ......... , al libro ......,

folio ........... con CIF nº ................

I. Que el Arrendador es propietario del Inmueble sito en la calle ..... nº.., en? .

II. Que, interesado el Arrendatario en tomar en arrendamiento el expresado inmueble, ambas partes han convenido otorgar el presente Contrato de Arrendamiento de Vivienda, sujeto a la Ley 29/1994, de 24 de noviembre, de Arrendamientos Urbanos (en adelante LAU) que será de aplicación en el presente contrato, que se regirá supletoriamente por las siguientes

Primera.- Objeto.

El Arrendador cede en arrendamiento al Arrendatario, que acepta, el Inmueble descrito en el expositivo primero. El Inmueble será destinado por el Arrendatario a vivienda. En ningún caso podrá el Arrendatario cambiarlo de destino.

El Arrendatario declara recibir el Inmueble en buen estado de conservación y en condiciones de habitabilidad, aceptándolo tal y como se encuentra.

Segunda.- Duración.

El presente contrato tendrá una duración de .................. meses/años, a contar desde la fecha que figura en el encabezamiento, salvo que el Inmueble se ponga a disposición del Arrendatario en fecha posterior, en cuyo caso entrará en vigor en esta última fecha. Si la duración del arrendamiento fuera inferior a cinco años, llegado el día del vencimiento del contrato, éste se prorrogará obligatoriamente por plazos anuales hasta que el arrendamiento alcance una duración mínima de cinco años, salvo que el arrendatario manifieste al arrendador con treinta días de antelación como mínimo a la fecha de terminación del contrato o de cualquiera de las prórrogas, su voluntad de no renovarlo.(No procederá la prórroga obligatoria si se hace constar expresamente en este contrato la necesidad del arrendador de ocupar la vivienda arrendada antes del transcurso de cinco años para destinarla a vivienda permanente para sí).

Tercera.- Renta.

3.1.- Como renta de este arrendamiento se pacta la cantidad de................euros

(............. euros) mensuales, pagaderas por mensualidades anticipadas, en los siete

primeros días de cada mes.

3.2.- El pago de la renta se efectuará en metálico en el Inmueble arrendado, si bien el Arrendador se reserva el derecho de poder domiciliar el pago de la renta en cuenta bancaria

abierta en el banco .......... en la plaza de ................, notificándoselo así al Arrendatario.

3.3.- El Arrendador está obligado a entregar al Arrendatario recibo acreditativo del pago de cada mensualidad, en el que se recojan de forma separada la renta en vigor y el Impuesto sobre el Valor Añadido (IVA) que corresponda en cada momento.

Cuarta.- Fianza.

4.1.- El Arrendatario debe constituir en el plazo máximo de 15 días, a partir de la fecha de este contrato, la correspondiente fianza legal obligatoria, por importe de 1 mensualidad de la renta pactada.

4.2.- A la terminación del arrendamiento, el Arrendador restituirá al Arrendatario el importe de la fianza en metálico que corresponda, el cual devengará el interés legal transcurrido 1 mes desde la entrega de las llaves por el Arrendatario sin que se hubiera hecho efectiva dicha restitución.

Quinta.- Actualización de la Renta.

La renta se actualizará en la fecha en que se cumpla cada año de vigencia del contrato mediante:

Sistema de Índices de Precios de

Consumo. (La revisión se realizará mediante aplicación a la renta correspondiente a la anualidad anterior la variación porcentual experimentada, en más o en menos, por dicho Índice en un periodo de doce meses inmediatamente anteriores a la fecha de cada actualización. Para la primera actualización se tomará como mes de referencia el

correspondiente al último índice que estuviera publicado en la fecha de celebración del presente contrato y para las sucesivas el que corresponda al último aplicado).

B) La renta actualizada será exigible a partir del mes siguiente al de su notificación por la parte interesada a la otra.

Sexta.- Gastos.

6.1.- Todos los gastos por servicios con que cuente el Inmueble, que se individualicen mediante aparatos contadores serán de cuenta del ....................

6.2.- Los gastos generales para el adecuado sostenimiento del inmueble, que correspondan al Inmueble, y que no sean susceptibles de individualización, serán a cargo del .................Los tributos que correspondan al Inmueble, serán a cargo del ..............

6.3.- El pago de los gastos se realizará y acreditará en la misma forma establecida para el pago de la renta.

Séptima.- Obras.

7.1.- La realización de cualquier obra en el Inmueble por el Arrendatario precisará la autorización previa y por escrito del Arrendador.

7.2.- A la terminación del presente contrato el Arrendatario restituirá el Inmueble en el mismo estado en que se encontraba en el momento de la entrega, si bien el Arrendador podrá optar porque dichas obras queden a beneficio del Inmueble, sin cargo alguno.

7.3.- El Arrendador está obligado a realizar, sin derecho a elevar por ello la renta, todas las reparaciones que sean necesarias para conservar la vivienda en las condiciones necesarias para servir al uso convenido, salvo cuando el deterioro sea imputable al arrendatario.En cualquier caso, las pequeñas reparaciones que exija el desgaste por el uso ordinario del local correrán a cargo del Arrendatario.

Octava.- Cesión y subarriendo.

8.1.- El presente contrato sólo podrá ser cedido o subarrendado previo consentimiento escrito del Arrendador, salvo pacto expreso en contrario.

8.2.- En caso de subarriendo parcial, el Arrendador tiene derecho a una elevación de renta del 10 por 100, y en caso de cesión o subarriendo total, del 20 por 100.

8.3.- Tanto la cesión como el subarriendo deben notificarse de forma fehaciente al Arrendador en el plazo de 1 mes desde que se hubieran concertado.

Novena.- Derecho de Adquisición Preferente.

Se regirá por lo dispuesto en el artículo 25 de la LAU.

- 26 -

Décima.- Renuncia al Derecho de Subrogación.

Se regirá por lo dispuesto en el artículo 16 de la LAU.

Decimoprimera.- Tácita reconducción.

Si llegada la fecha de vencimiento del contrato, una vez transcurridos como mínimo cinco años de duración de aquél, ninguna de las partes hubiese notificado a la otra, al menos con un mes de antelación a aquella fecha, su voluntad de no renovarlo, el contrato se prorrogará obligatoriamente por plazos anuales hasta un máximo de tres años más, salvo que el arrendatario manifieste al arrendador con un mes de antelación a la fecha de terminación de cualquiera de las anualidades, su voluntad de no renovar el contrato.

Decimosegunda.- Resolución de este contrato.

Cualquier infracción de lo establecido en este contrato dará lugar a su resolución.En su caso, el conocimiento de los litigios relativos a este contrato corresponde al juez de primera instancia del lugar en que se halle el local.

Y en prueba de conformidad con cuanto antecede, ambas partes firman el presente contrato por duplicado y a un solo efecto, en el lugar y en la fecha indicados en el encabezamiento.

EL ARRENDADOR

Fdo: Don ....................................

Contract for long term letting - English text:

In........., on the.......of.......year.......

ASSEMBLED

1. Lesser.........nationality......address.....locality...NIF/passport...., of age/not of age, marital

status........

Intervene (cross out what does not apply):

- in own name and representation

- represented by.......nationality......address............NIF/passport...... by means of

...................................

2. Lessee........nationality......address......locality.....NIF/passport......, of age/not of age, marital

status...

Intervene (cross out what does not apply):

- in own name and representation

- represented by.........nationality......address.....locality.....NIF/passport........by means of

....................

SET FORTH

I. That the lessor is the owner of the property apartment.......entrance.....letter/number....situated

in street..............number......locality......province.......

II. That the lessee is interested in letting the property identified in previous paragraph (from here on the property), for the time period mentioned later, to be used for permanent residency.

III. Since the lessor is interested in letting of the property for a time period, the two parts, accepting mutually each others legal capacity to do so, subscribe the present letting contract for use as permanent dwelling, subject to Law 29/1994 of 24th of November, Law on Letting of a Dwelling (from here on LAU), and in accordance with the following

Clauses

FIRST - OBJECTIVE

The lessor rents out the property described in the beginning, for a time period to the lessee, that accepts.

The lessee declares explicitly that the property dealt with in this contract will be used as permanent dwelling and only for that use, in accordance with what is established in the LAU.

SECOND - DURATION

The property is rented out for ......... months/years or the time period from..........to.......both days included. If the conventional duration was inferior to five years, arrived the day of the expiration of the contract, this will be continued obligatorily by annual terms until the letting has a five year-old minimum duration, unless the lessee manifests the lessor with thirty days minimum in advanced of termination of the contract or of any of the extensions, his will of not renovating it. If the expiration date of the contract arrives, once lapsed minimum five years of its duration, none of the parts has notified to the other one, at least with a month in advanced to that date, their will of not renovating it, the contract will be continued obligatorily by annual terms until three years-old maximum more, unless the lessee manifests the lessor with a month in advance of the termination of any of the annuities his will of not renovating the contract. On the last day of the letting period, the lessee must return the keys of the property to the lessor or the person that he appoints.

THIRD - THE RENT

3.1. The parts set freely the rent to the amount of .....................Euro, to be paid in monthly advanced payments within the seven first days of each month, unless something else is explicitly agreed between both parts under final chapter 'Otras' of this document.

3.2. The rent will be paid in cash and in the property rented out, unless something else is explicitly agreed between both parts under final chapter 'Otras' of this document.

3.3. The lessor must give the lessee a receipt for payment, unless what has been agreed about the payment in previous paragraph verifies payment, specifying both the rent and the payments for other concepts.

FOURTH - GUARANTEE

4.1. At this moment the lessee hands over to the lessor in cash the amount of .......................Euro, equivalent to one monthly rent-payments, as guarantee.

4.2. At the end of the letting, the lessor returns to the lessee in cash the amount of the guarantee that corresponds, within one month from the delivery of the keys. After one month without the guarantee sum having been returned, shall be added the legal interest.

4.3. If the regional government has established rules for handling of the guarantee sum, the handling must be done in accordance with those rules.

FIFTH - FURNITURE/EQUIPMENT

The letting dealt with in this contract includes also furniture and equipment in the property. As an addition to this contract is included an inventory of such furniture and equipment, that the lessee declares to accept.

SIXTH - MAINTENANCE

The lessee declares to receive the property, with the furniture/equipment as listed in the inventory, in a good state of preservation and habitation, and to know its characteristics, services and legal use, accepting it as encountered. At the termination of the present contract, the lessee compromise himself to hand back in identical conditions the property and the objects mentioned in the inventory. The lessee will pay for damage or losses imputable to him.

SEVENTH - COSTS

7.1. All costs for services measured by meters for the property are for the account of the lessee.

7.2. All general costs for the adequate maintenance of the building, its services, charges and responsibilities, that corresponds to the property or its annexes, and that cannot be measured, are for the account of .........................

7.3. The payment of the costs will be executed and guarantied in the same form as for the rent.

EIGHT - CESSION AND SUBLETTING

8.1. The present contract may only be ceded after a written consent from the lessor. In case of a cession, the person taking over maintains the obligations of the lessee in relation to the lessor.

8.2. The property may only be sublet partly, after written consent from the lessor, and the price may not at any time exceed the rent. In case of a subletting, the right of the person subletting extinguishes together with this contract.

NINTH - PREFERRED PURCHASING RIGHT

This right is regulated in section 25 of LAU.

TENTH - RIGHT TO SUBROGATION

This right is regulated in section 16 of LAU.

ELEVENTH - RESPONSABILITY FOR EFFECTS OF LESSEE

The lessor is not responsible for lost or damage to effects that the lessee brings into the property.

TWELFTH - INDEMNISATION OF LESSOR

In case the lessee does not return the keys to the lessor on the day of terminating the present contract, in accordance with what it is established in second clause, he must pay in indemnities to the lessor, in addition to the costs and expenses originated from the break of the contract, a sum equal to the result of multiplying each day of delay by the resulting amount from dividing the total rent between the number of days agreed for this letting.

THIRTEENTH - RENT MODERNIZING

The rent will be modernized according to the variation of the Consumer Price Index.

FOURTEENTH - LEGISLATION

14.1. For anything not foreseen in this contract, shall be applied what is established in present Law 29/1994 of 29 of November, on Letting of a Dwelling (BOE n1 282 of 25 November 1994), and/or any other Laws that may come into effect on this subject, derogating totally or partly the present one, and supplementary, the Civil Law.

14.2. The present contract does not constitute a tourist letting, and for that reason is not subject to the special norms applicable for tourist apartments.

FIFTEENTH - For any problem that can arise in the interpretation or application of the present contract the parts undergo voluntarily the Tribunals of...................., giving up any other jurisdiction.

OTHERS

And as proof of conformity with the foregoing, both parts sign the present contract in duplicate

and with only one effect, at the place and date indicated in the beginning.

Contract for short term letting - Spanish text

En ......, a ....... de ................. de........

De una parte, don ..............., como ARRENDADOR, estado civil..... , profesión....., nacionalidad.........., vecino de ........, con domicilio en .........., provisto de DNI/NIF/pasaporte nº ............... De la otra, don ......................, como ARRENDATARIO, estado civil..... , profesión ..... ., nacionalidad ....... ., vecino de .........., con domicilio en ....................., provisto de DNI/NIF/pasaporte nº ...................

Ambos son mayores de edad, y con capacidad legal, que mutuamente se reconocen.

A) Don .......................................... en su propio nombre y derecho.

B) Don ......................................... en nombre y representación de la compañía mercantil .......... domiciliada en ................., de ............, en su calidad de .............., según consta en la escritura de constitución de la referida sociedad, otorgada con fecha de .... de ............. de 19.... ante el notario de ............, don..................... , e inscrita en el Registro Mercantil de ......... , al libro ......, folio ........... con CIF nº ................

I. Que el Arrendador es propietario del Inmueble sito en la calle ..... nº.., en? .

II. Que, interesado el Arrendatario en tomar en arrendamiento el expresado inmueble, ambas partes han convenido otorgar el presente Contrato de Arrendamiento de Uso Distinto del de Vivienda, sujeto a la Ley 29/1994, de 24 de noviembre, de Arrendamientos Urbanos (en adelante LAU) que será de aplicación en todo lo no previsto en el presente contrato, que se regirá por las siguientes

Primera.- Objeto.

El Arrendador cede en arrendamiento al Arrendatario, que acepta, el Inmueble descrito en el expositivo primero. El Inmueble será destinado por el Arrendatario a ............. En ningún caso podrá el Arrendatario cambiarlo de destino ni dedicarlo a negocio distinto del pactado, sin la autorización previa y por escrito del Arrendador. El Arrendatario declara recibir el Inmueble en buen estado de conservación y en condiciones de habitabilidad, aceptándolo tal y como se encuentra.

Segunda.- Duración.

El presente contrato tendrá una duración de .................. meses/años, a contar desde la fecha que figura en el encabezamiento, salvo que el Inmueble se ponga a disposición del Arrendatario en fecha posterior, en cuyo caso entrará en vigor en esta última fecha.

Tercera.- Renta.

3.1.- Como renta de este arrendamiento se pacta la cantidad de................ Euros mensuales, pagaderas por mensualidades anticipadas, en los Siete primeros días de cada mes.

3.2.- El pago de la renta se efectuará en metálico en el Inmueble arrendado, si bien el Arrendador se reserva el derecho de poder domiciliar el pago de la renta en cuenta bancaria abierta en el banco .......... en la plaza de ................, notificándoselo así al Arrendatario.

3.3.- El Arrendador está obligado a entregar al Arrendatario recibo acreditativo del pago de cada mensualidad, en el que se recojan de forma separada la renta en vigor y el Impuesto sobre el Valor Añadido (IVA) que corresponda en cada momento.

Cuarta.- Fianza.

4.1.- El Arrendatario debe constituir en el plazo máximo de 15 días, a partir de la fecha de este contrato, la correspondiente fianza legal obligatoria, por importe de 2 mensualidades de la renta pactada.

4.2.- A la terminación del arrendamiento, el Arrendador restituirá al Arrendatario el importe de la fianza en metálico que corresponda, el cual devengará el interés legal transcurrido 1 mes desde la entrega de las llaves por el Arrendatario sin que se hubiera hecho efectiva dicha restitución.

Quinta.- Actualización de la Renta.

La renta se actualizará en la fecha en que se cumpla cada año de vigencia del contrato mediante:

A) Aplicación de la variación del Indice General Nacional del Sistema de Indices de Precios de Consumo. (La revisión se realizará mediante aplicación a la renta correspondiente a la anualidad anterior la variación porcentual experimentada, en más o en menos, por dicho Indice en un periodo de doce meses inmediatamente anteriores a la fecha de cada actualización. Para la primera actualización se tomará como mes de referencia el correspondiente al último índice que estuviera publicado en la fecha de celebración del presente contrato y para las sucesivas el que corresponda al último aplicado).

B) La renta actualizada será exigible a partir del mes siguiente al de su notificación por la parte interesada a la otra.

Sexta.- Gastos.

6.1.- Todos los gastos por servicios con que cuente el Inmueble, que se individualicen mediante aparatos contadores serán de cuenta del ....................

6.2.- Los gastos generales para el adecuado sostenimiento del inmueble, que correspondan al Inmueble, y que no sean susceptibles de individualización, serán a cargo del .................Los tributos que correspondan al Inmueble, serán a cargo del ..............

6.3.- El pago de los gastos se realizará y acreditará en la misma forma establecida para el pago de la renta.

Séptima.- Obras.

7.1.- El Arrendatario podrá realizar todas las obras que considere necesarias para el primer establecimiento de la actividad señalada como destino del local, siempre que no afecten a la

7.2.- La realización de cualquier otra obra en el Inmueble por el Arrendatario precisará la

autorización previa y por escrito del Arrendador.

7.3.- A la terminación del presente contrato el Arrendatario restituirá el Inmueble en el mismo

estado en que se encontraba en el momento de la entrega, si bien el Arrendador podrá optar

porque dichas obras queden a beneficio del Inmueble, sin cargo alguno.

7.4.- El Arrendador está obligado a realizar, sin derecho a elevar estructura del Inmueble ni del edificio en que éste se encuentre situado.por ello la renta, todas las reparaciones que sean necesarias para conservar el local en las condiciones necesarias para servir al uso convenido, salvo cuando el deterioro sea imputable al arrendatario.En cualquier caso, las pequeñas reparaciones que exija el desgaste por el uso ordinario del local correrán a cargo del Arrendatario.

Octava.- Cesión y subarriendo.

8.1.- El presente contrato sólo podrá ser cedido o subarrendado previo consentimiento escrito del Arrendador, salvo pacto expreso en contrario.

8.2.- En caso de subarriendo parcial, el Arrendador tiene derecho a una elevación de renta del 10 por 100, y en caso de cesión o subarriendo total, del 20 por 100.

8.3.- Tanto la cesión como el subarriendo deben notificarse de forma fehaciente al Arrendador en el plazo de 1 mes desde que se hubieran concertado.Novena.- Renuncia al Derecho de Adquisición Preferente.

El arrendatario renuncia a los derechos de tanteo y retracto establecidos en la LAU.

Décima.- Renuncia al Derecho de Subrogación.

Las partes acuerdan que no haya derecho de subrogación en caso de fallecimiento del Arrendatario.

Decimoprimera.- Exclusión de la tácita reconducción.

Las partes acuerdan expresamente que el presente contrato no se prorrogará automáticamente si, al terminar el contrato, el Arrendatario permanece disfrutando quince días de la cosa arrendada con aquiescencia del Arrendador.

Decimosegunda.- Resolución de este contrato.

Cualquier infracción de lo establecido en este convenio dará lugar a su resolución.

En su caso, el conocimiento de los litigios relativos a este contrato corresponde al juez de primera instancia del lugar en que se halle el local.

Y en prueba de conformidad con cuanto antecede, ambas partes firman el presente contrato por duplicado y a un solo efecto, en el lugar y en la fecha indicados en el encabezamiento.

EL ARRENDADOR

Fdo: Don ....................................

Contract for SHORT TERM LETTING - English text:

In........., on the.......of.......year.......

ASSEMBLED

1. Lessor.........nationality......address.....locality...NIF/passport...., of age/not of age, marital

status........

Intervene (cross out what does not apply):

- in own name and representation

- represented by.......nationality......address............NIF/passport...... by means of

...................................

2. Lessee........nationality......address......locality.....NIF/passport......, of age/not of age, marital

status...

Intervene (cross out what does not apply):

- in own name and representation

- represented by.........nationality......address.....locality.....NIF/passport........by means of

....................

SET FORTH

I. That the lessor is the owner of the property apartment.......entrance.....letter/number....situated in street..............number......locality......province.......

II. That the lessee is interested in letting the property identified in previous paragraph (from here on the property), for the time period mentioned later, to be used for.....? ? .., having his habitual residency at address given at the beginning.

III. Since the lessor is interested in letting of the property for a time period, the two parts, accepting mutually each others legal capacity to do so, subscribe the present letting contract for a different use to permanent dwelling, subject to Law 29/1994 of 24th of November, Law on Letting of a Dwelling (from here on LAU), and in accordance with the following Clauses

FIRST - OBJECTIVE

The lessor rents out the property described in the beginning, for a time period to the lessee, that accepts.The lessee declares explicitly that the property dealt with in this contract will be used as agreed and he will not change the destination of the dwelling without the previous written consent from the lessor.

SECOND - DURATION

The property is rented out for …. . months/years or the time period from..........to.......both days included. Both parties expressly state that this contract will not be extended automatically if, at its end, the lessee stays fifteen days more enjoying the property with the consent of the lessor. On the last day of the letting period, the lessee must return the keys of the property to the lessor or the person that he appoints.

THIRD - THE RENT

3.1. The parts set freely the rent to the amount of ....................Euros to be paid in monthly advanced payments within the seven first days of each month, unless something else is explicitly agreed between both parts under final chapter 'Otras' of this document.

3.2. The rent will be paid in cash and in the property rented out, unless something else is explicitly agreed between both parts under final chapter 'Otras' of this document.

3.3. The lessor must give the lessee a receipt for payment, unless what has been agreed about the payment in previous paragraph verifies payment, specifying both the rent and the payments for other concepts.

FOURTH - GUARANTEE

4.1. At this moment the lessee hands over to the lessor in cash the amount of .......................Euros, equivalent to two monthly rent-payments, as guarantee.

4.2. At the end of the letting, the lessor returns to the lessee in cash the amount of the guarantee that corresponds, within one month from the delivery of the keys. After one month without the guarantee sum having been returned, shall be added the legal interest.

4.3. If the regional government has established rules for handling of the guarantee sum, the handling must be done in accordance with those rules.

FIFTH - FURNITURE/EQUIPMENT

The letting dealt with in this contract includes also furniture and equipment in the property. As an addition to this contract is included an inventory of such furniture and equipment, that the

lessee declares to accept.

SIXTH - MAINTENANCE

The lessee declares to receive the property, with the furniture/equipment as listed in the inventory, in a good state of preservation and habitation, and to know its characteristics, services and legal use, accepting it as encountered. At the termination of the present contract, the lessee compromise himself to hand back in identical conditions the property and the objects mentioned in the inventory. The lessee will pay for damage or losses imputable to him.

SEVENTH - COSTS

7.1. All costs for services measured by meters for the property are for the account of the lessee.

7.2. All general costs for the adequate maintenance of the building, its services, charges and responsibilities, that corresponds to the property or its annexes, and that cannot be measured, are for the account of .........................

7.3. The payment of the costs will be executed and guarantied in the same form as for the rent.

EIGHT - CESSION AND SUBLETTING

8.1. The present contract may only be ceded after a written consent from the lessor. In case of a cession, the person taking over maintains the obligations of the lessee in relation to the lessor.

8.2. The property may only be sublet partly, after written consent from the lessor, and the price may not at any time exceed the rent. In case of a subletting, the right of the person subletting extinguishes together with this contract.

NINTH - RENOUNCEMENT OF PREFERRED PURCHASING RIGHT

The lessee renounces the right of preference in case of the property being sold, established in the LAU.

TENTH - RENOUNCEMENT OF RIGHT TO SUBROGATION

Both parts agree that there is no right of subrogation in case of demise of the lessee.

ELEVENTH - RESPONSABILITY FOR EFFECTS OF LESSEE

The lessor is not responsible for lost or damage to effects that the lessee brings into the property.

TWELFTH - INDEMNISATION OF LESSOR

In case the lessee does not return the keys to the lessor on the day of terminating the present contract, in accordance with what it is established in second clause, he must pay in indemnities to the lessor, in addition to the costs and expenses originated from the break of the contract, a sum equal to the result of multiplying each day of delay by the resulting amount from dividing the total rent between the number of days agreed for this letting.

THIRTEENTH - RENT MODERNIZING

The rent will be modernized according to the variation of the Consumer Price Index.

FOURTEENTH - LEGISLATION

For anything not foreseen in this contract, shall be applied what is established in present Law 29/1994 of 29 of November, on Letting of a Dwelling (BOE n1 282 of 25 November 1994), and/or any other Laws that may come into effect on this subject, derogating totally or partly the present one, and supplementary, the Civil Law.

FIFTEENTH - For any problem that can arise in the interpretation or application of the present contract the parts undergo voluntarily the Tribunals of...................., giving up any other jurisdiction.

OTHERS

............................................................................................................................................

And as proof of conformity with the foregoing, both parts sign the present contract in duplicate and with only one effect, at the place and date indicated in the beginning

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The letting contract

As you understand from what you have read so far, it is necessary to make a proper contract for letting or renting of a dwelling, even if the law also allow verbal agreements. That such a verbal agreement exists, can be proved by the tenant living in the dwelling, and by payment receipts.
Be aware that any clauses written into a contract that go against the stipulations of the law, are automatically null and void. So it does not help an owner to stipulate in the contract that the tenant renounces on his right to the automatic prolongation.
We have fair contract models for letting of dwellings as well as for tourist lettings. You may use these models, or ask a lawyer to assist you. Such a letting contract need not be signed in front of a notary, only if you want it registered in the property register. In some autonomous regions they have special registries for long-term letting contracts.
The rent can be agreed freely between the owner and the tenant. It is normal that a deposit be paid on a letting. For a dwelling the law has established a deposit equivalent to one months rent. In some autonomous regions it is obligatory for the owner to hand over this deposit at a special office of the administration, together with the contract. The rent must be paid within the first 7 natural days of each month, meaning in advance, in the form agreed between the parts.

Last Updated ( Saturday, 21 April 2007 )