Tenant Not Paying Rent in Spain in 2026: What Landlords Can Do, from Burofax to Eviction

A tenant who stops paying the rent is one of the things landlords in Spain worry about most. But a bounced payment does not always end in eviction: sometimes there is a temporary problem that can be sorted out by talking. And when it can't, the law sets out a clear path, with deadlines and rights for both sides. We go through it in order, with the rules as they stand on 21 October 2026: the burofax, the deposit and guarantees, eviction proceedings, vulnerable households, Royal Decree-law 29/2026, figures from the Consejo General del Poder Judicial (CGPJ, the General Council of the Judiciary) and prevention.

First step: talk, and put everything in writing

Article 27 of the Ley de Arrendamientos Urbanos (LAU, the Urban Leases Act) allows a landlord to terminate the contract when the rent is not paid, but an eviction takes months and costs both sides money. Before anything else, find out what has happened:

• Ask why and when they will be able to pay. If the problem is temporary, a payment plan signed by both of you may solve it sooner than a court case.
• Keep evidence: bank statements showing the unpaid rent, messages and emails.
• If the tenant is going through a hard time, remind them that they can turn to social services.
• Don't change the locks or cut off utilities: even if they don't pay, the tenant still has possession of the home, and only a judge can order an eviction.

Demanding payment by burofax: why the date matters

If talking isn't enough, demand payment in a way that proves both the content and the date, such as a burofax (a certified letter sent through the Spanish postal service) with certified text and acknowledgement of receipt. This matters because of enervación: the tenant's option to halt the eviction by paying everything they owe. Under article 22.4 of the Ley de Enjuiciamiento Civil (LEC, the Civil Procedure Act), it can only be used once, and it is not available if the landlord demanded payment in a verifiable way at least 30 days before filing the claim and the rent was still unpaid when it was filed.

…where the landlord has demanded payment from the tenant by any verifiable means at least thirty days in advance…

Civil Procedure Act (LEC), article 22.4 (our translation)

There is a second reason to write before suing. Since 3 April 2025, under Organic Law 1/2025, an eviction claim is only admitted if the landlord has first tried an alternative dispute resolution method (MASC in Spanish), such as a negotiation, a mediation or a confidential binding offer, and can prove it. A lawyer can prepare both the payment demand and the attempt at negotiation so that each one does its job.

The deposit and extra guarantees: what they cover and what they don't

The fianza (legal deposit) is one month's rent for a residential let (article 36 of the LAU). It is not an advance on the rent but a guarantee for the whole contract: it is settled when the keys are handed back, and only then can the landlord deduct, with justification, what is owed. In the Madrid region the landlord lodges it with the Agencia de Vivienda Social (the regional social housing agency), so it isn't available to cover arrears halfway through the contract. We explain it in «The rental deposit in Spain in 2026».

An extra guarantee can also be agreed: a cash deposit, a bank guarantee or a personal guarantor. Under the wording given to article 36.5 of the LAU by Royal Decree-law 29/2026, it may not exceed two months' rent in residential contracts of up to five years (seven if the landlord is a company) or one month in temporary lets. The decree also requires the condition of the home to be recorded in writing at the end of the contract; without that document it is presumed, unless proven otherwise, that the home was returned in good condition.

Under no circumstances may the tenant be required to take out rent default insurance or other similar cover.

Urban Leases Act (LAU), article 36.5, as worded by Royal Decree-law 29/2026 (our translation)

Eviction for non-payment, step by step

With no payment and no agreement, the route is a claim for eviction for non-payment, which follows the fast-track oral procedure known as juicio verbal (article 250.1.1 of the LEC) and lets you claim the unpaid rent at the same time. The claim must state whether the property is the tenant's main residence and whether the landlord is a gran tenedor (large landlord), which under Law 12/2023 on the right to housing means owning more than ten residential properties or more than 1,500 square metres of residential space (five properties in stressed housing areas, if the region so decides).

1. Payment demand and attempt at negotiation (MASC), with proof.
2. Eviction claim, together with the claim for unpaid rent.
3. Court demand: the tenant has ten days to leave, pay or deposit what they owe, or oppose the claim. It already sets the date of the hearing, in case of opposition, and the exact day and time of the lanzamiento, that is, the physical eviction (article 438.5 of the LEC).
4. If the tenant neither pays nor opposes, a court decree ends the case, orders them to pay costs and the eviction goes ahead on the set date.
5. If they pay everything in time and can still use enervación, the case ends and the contract continues.
6. If they oppose, there is a hearing and a judgment; if it favours the landlord, the eviction takes place within the 30 days following the hearing.

If the property is the tenant's main residence, the court notifies social services (article 441 of the LEC). If they find the household vulnerable, they report it within ten days at most, and the court, after also weighing the landlord's situation, may suspend the case for up to two months if the claimant is an individual and up to four if it is a company. The criteria include rent plus utilities exceeding 30% of household income with income below three times the IPREM (Spain's public income benchmark), or the presence of minors, dependent persons or victims of gender violence.

What is left of the prior mediation required by the Housing Law

Law 12/2023 required large landlords to show whether the tenant was vulnerable and, if so, to go through conciliation or mediation with the authorities first. The Constitutional Court struck down those requirements in judgment 26/2025 of 29 January (BOE, 28 February 2025). The claim must still state whether the home is a main residence and whether the claimant is a large landlord. So, as of 21 October 2026, prior mediation is not a requirement for filing a claim; what everyone must do is attempt negotiation (MASC).

What changes with Royal Decree-law 29/2026

The decree adds an extraordinary form of enervación. If the tenant is economically vulnerable, the competent public authority has two months, which cannot be extended, from notification to offer suitable alternative housing or to pay or deposit the amount claimed and anything else owed, plus costs. In the meantime the case is suspended. If it pays, the case ends and the contract continues; if it does neither, it automatically becomes the debtor in place of the tenant, there is no eviction and the contract remains in force until it expires while the vulnerability lasts. According to an analysis published in El Derecho, this can apply even if the landlord had already sent the payment demand.

It also suspends, until 31 December 2030, evictions of vulnerable people with no housing alternative. If the claimant is an entity that buys homes or portfolios of unpaid loans far below their value, the judge suspends the case even after judgment, with no compensation. In other cases where the extraordinary enervación does not apply, the suspension is reviewed periodically, is lifted if the vulnerability ends, lasts a maximum of three years and provides compensation for landlords who are private individuals, within the limits set by the decree. According to El Derecho, the tenant's vulnerability does not prevail when the claimant is a private individual who owns two homes or fewer.

How long it takes and what the CGPJ figures show

The CGPJ publishes the number of evictions carried out each quarter, but not how long each case takes. In the second quarter of 2026 there were 4,474 evictions in Spain, 35.7% fewer than a year earlier, and 2,244 of them stemmed from unpaid rent. In the Madrid region 778 were carried out, but only 116 came under the tenancy law, against 540 for other reasons. The figures vary a lot from quarter to quarter, so they should be read with caution.

Source: CGPJ, press releases of 22 June and 16 October 2026. Change compared with the same quarter of the previous year. An eviction (lanzamiento) here means the home was actually vacated.

The real duration depends mainly on each court's workload, on whether the tenant can be served and on any suspensions, so be wary of anyone who promises you a fixed date. These are the deadlines set by law:

Sources: Civil Procedure Act (current text on Iberley), Royal Decree-law 29/2026 (BOE) and El Derecho. These are legal deadlines, not average durations.

Rent default insurance, debtor registers and tax

Rent default insurance is taken out by the landlord, who is the beneficiary, and covers unpaid rent for the period set in the policy. Before signing, check how many months it covers, whether there is a waiting period, whether it includes legal costs for the eviction and what requirements it sets for the tenant.

So-called debtor registers (ficheros de morosos) are, in legal terms, credit information systems. Under article 20 of Organic Law 3/2018 on data protection, a debt can only be included if it is certain, due and payable, has not been disputed by the tenant through a claim, and the tenant was told beforehand, in the contract or when payment was demanded, that it could be included and in which systems. The data can be kept for a maximum of five years from the due date.

In your Spanish income tax return (IRPF), unpaid rent can be deducted as a doubtful debt if this is justified, for example if more than six months have passed between the first attempt to collect it and the end of the year, or if the tenant is in insolvency proceedings. It must first have been declared as income, and if it is collected later, it counts as income again that year (Agencia Tributaria, the Spanish Tax Agency, 2025 income tax manual).

How to prevent non-payment before signing

• Check the identity of the person signing and that they are the person who will live in the home.
• Verify income with documents (payslips, employment contract or tax return) and only ask for what you need to assess solvency.
• Do the maths: the LEC treats rent plus utilities above 30% of household income as a sign of vulnerability.
• Agree in writing on an extra guarantee within the legal limits, or a guarantor.
• Draw up a complete contract: payment date and method by bank transfer, postal and email addresses for notices, how you will try to resolve a dispute, notice of possible inclusion in a debtor register and an inventory with photos.
• Lodge the deposit and, if you want rent default insurance, take it out and pay for it yourself.

And if you are a tenant and cannot pay, tell your landlord as soon as possible, propose a realistic payment plan and ask social services for help and, if a claim arrives, a lawyer, including a legal aid lawyer if you qualify. Responding to the court's demand in time is key: it is your chance to pay, oppose or ask for your situation to be assessed. We cover this in «Tenant rights in Spain in 2026».

Llavely and renting

The best protection against non-payment starts before signing: knowing who you are signing with. That is why Llavely is renting the other way round: tenants create their verified profile once, with their identity and income checked (if anything doesn’t add up, a member of our team reviews it), and it is landlords and agencies who invite them to view their property. It is free for tenants, landlords and agencies, with every feature; for tenants, it is always free.

Let's be honest: checking identity and income doesn't guarantee that nobody will ever stop paying, and no platform replaces a well-drafted contract or what the courts decide. What we do is make sure landlord and tenant start with verified information. Rentals are already open in the provinces of Madrid and Barcelona: if you are looking for a flat, create your profile for free; if you are a landlord or an agency, list your property for free. You can paste the text of the listing you already have, and a member of our team checks every property in under 24 hours before it goes live. In the rest of Spain there is a waiting list: sign up with your areas and we will email you when we open there. And if you are thinking of selling a home in the Madrid region, you can already do so with us for 2.5% + VAT, only if you sell, and request your free valuation.

Frequently asked questions

Sources

1. Real Decreto-ley 29/2026 (Royal Decree-law 29/2026) of 6 October on urgent measures to protect the social function of housing and expand the supply of affordable housing, consolidated text (BOE, 7 October 2026)
2. Ley 29/1994 de Arrendamientos Urbanos (Urban Leases Act), consolidated text (BOE)
3. Article 36 of the Urban Leases Act: deposit, as worded by Royal Decree-law 29/2026 (Iberley)
4. Article 22 of the Civil Procedure Act: enervación of evictions (Iberley)
5. Article 438 of the Civil Procedure Act: court demand in eviction for non-payment (Iberley)
6. Article 441 of the Civil Procedure Act: social services and suspension for vulnerability (Iberley)
7. Article 20 of Organic Law 3/2018 on Data Protection: credit information systems (Iberley)
8. Annulment of the procedural requirements imposed on large landlords, Constitutional Court judgment 26/2025 (Tirant lo Blanch, March 2025)
9. Prior negotiation as a new procedural requirement for eviction claims (Madrid Association of Property Managers, March–April 2025)
10. Opinion piece on Royal Decree-law 29/2026: eviction moratorium and extraordinary enervación (El Derecho, 14 October 2026)
11. Signing a lease in 2026: rent default insurance can no longer be required of the tenant (Selectra, 9 October 2026)
12. Congress plans to vote on the housing decrees the day after the general strike and the eve of the campaign (Europa Press in Infobae, 16 October 2026)
13. Courts carried out 4,474 evictions in the second quarter, 35.7% fewer than in the same period last year (CGPJ, 16 October 2026)
14. Madrid courts carried out 778 evictions in the second quarter, 10% more than in the same period last year (CGPJ, Madrid High Court of Justice, 16 October 2026)
15. Evictions carried out in the Madrid region fall 17.1% in the first quarter of 2026 (CGPJ, Madrid High Court of Justice, 22 June 2026)
16. 2025 income tax practical manual: other expenses deductible from rental income, doubtful debts (Agencia Tributaria, Spanish Tax Agency)