One of the Most frequently asked questions among rental property owners It is what is the maximum time that the tenant can stay in the home, but above all if they can terminate the contract before that date arrives. In this sense, it must be taken into account that, although the Urban Leases Law (LAU) provides that the duration of the contract can be “freely agreed upon by the parties”, it also regulates certain extensions before which the landlord cannot terminate the rental.
Article 9 of the aforementioned law establishes that if the duration of the housing rental contract signed between the parties is less than 5 years (or 7 if the landlord is a legal entity), it will be automatically extended by annual terms until that term is reached.
You may be interested
A landlady denounces the tenant for carrying out works without permission in the rented house: the court rejects it because they did not alter the structure of the house
Gonzalo Bernardos, economist: “The price of housing for sale would not rise more than it does now if purchases for rent increased”
Therefore, the landlord will not be able to terminate the rental unilaterally until 5 years have passed from the date of signing or making the home available to the tenant. Of course, it must be taken into account that in order for the contract to not continue to be renewed from this fifth year onwards, the landlord must notify at least 4 months in advance of the expiration date of the last extension of his desire not to renew it, as stated in article 10 of this rental law.
In the event that the landlord does not notify these 4 months in advance, the rent It will continue to be renewed annually for up to 3 more years.
A practical case on automatic rental contract extensions
To understand it better, let’s take the practical example of a rental contract signed on July 23, 2024, for a period of one year. Although the end date of the contract is July 23, 2025, upon this date it will be extended for up to 5 more years if the landlord is an individual.
From this date, the rent will be renewed every year until July 23, 2029. But to do so, the landlord must notify the tenant of his intention not to renew it 4 months before, that is, on March 23 of that same year. If you do not comply with this notice, the contract will be extended for annual periods of up to 3 more years, until July 23, 2032.
The landlord can only terminate the rental contract before the fifth year, in this case
The same article of the LAU establishes an exception in which the landlord can recover the home before the fifth year is reached, and that is if he needs it for his personal use as a permanent home or for his “relatives in the first degree of consanguinity or by adoption or for his spouse in the cases of a final judgment of separation, divorce or marital annulment.”
Now, for this to be fulfilled, at least one year must have passed since the beginning of the contract, and it must have included a clause that contemplates said option.
In order to recover the home, you must also inform the tenant that you need to use the home, specifying the reason, “at least two months in advance of the date on which the home will be needed.” After said notification, the tenant will be obliged to leave the home within those two months, unless they reach a different agreement between them.