When a rental contract is signed, the Urban Lease Law provides that the parties can freely agree on its duration. But this same regulation includes certain extensions and deadlines that must be met and if the landlord is not aware of and does not comply, he can make the tenant stay in the home for up to 8 years without him being able to refuse.
The first thing to keep in mind is that the aforementioned law establishes in its article 9 that although the parties can establish the duration they want for the rental contract, it will be automatically extended for annual periods of up to 5 years if the landlord is a natural person or up to 7 if it is a legal entity.
You may be interested
Flora Ropero, a retiree who collects 900 euros in pension: “they ask me for 830 euros in rent, it is impossible”
A 70-year-old retiree rents an illegal home in her garden and ends up having to sell the house 100,000 euros below its value after the tenants complain
During this period the landlord cannot terminate the rental contract, only the tenant can do so, giving 30 days’ notice. There is only one exception in which the landlord could recover the home and it is if you need it for personal use, and as long as the signed contract included a clause that includes this situation.
The contract can be extended up to three more years if the landlord does not notify in time
Once the mandatory minimum period of 5 or 7 years has been exceeded, article 10 of the LAU, which provides for a tacit extension of the contract. This means that, if neither party communicates its intention not to renew with prior legal notice, the rental will be automatically renewed for annual periods up to a maximum of three years.
If the landlord does not want to renew the contract, he must notify his desire not to do so at least four months in advance of the expiration date, while the tenant will only have to give two months’ notice.
If the owner does not comply with this deadline, the contract will continue to be renewed, allowing the tenant to remain in the property for up to a total of 8 years (5 + 3), or up to 10 years if the landlord is a legal entity (7 + 3).
Practical example of how long a rental contract can be extended
To better understand how mandatory extensions and tacit extensions work, let’s take as an example a rental contract signed on February 15, 2024, with an initial duration of one year. Although the end date of February 15, 2025 appears in the contract, the Urban Leasing Law establishes that, if the landlord is an individual, the contract will be automatically extended each year until reaching a total of 5 years.
This means that, unless the tenant decides to leave early, the renovations will remain as follows:
- 1st extension: from February 15, 2025 to February 15, 2026
- 2nd extension: from February 15, 2026 to February 15, 2027
- 3rd extension: from February 15, 2027 to February 15, 2028
- 4th extension: from February 15, 2028 to February 15, 2029
With these automatic extensions, the legal 5 years are reached, so the tenant can remain in the home until February 15, 2029. If the landlord were a legal entity, it would be 2 more years, that is, until February 15, 2031.
If upon that date none of the parties has communicated otherwise, the tacit extension of article 10 comes into play. This allows the contract to be extended for up to three more years in annual renewals.
In practice, the contract would continue like this:
- 1st tacit extension: from February 15, 2029 to February 15, 2030
- 2nd tacit extension: from February 15, 2030 to February 15, 2031
- 3rd tacit extension: from February 15, 2031 to February 15, 2032
Therefore, if the landlord does not give 4 months’ notice and does not communicate his intention not to renew, the tenant may remain in the home until February 15, 2032, that is, 8 years after signing the contract. If the landlord were a legal entity, it would be extended until February 15, 2034.