Rental deposits in Spain in 2026: deposit, extra guarantees and lodging in four regions

Published 9 October 2026

Checked against the consolidated LAU on the BOE on 10 October 2026. The rent-default insurance ban, the one-month cap for temporary lets and the end-of-lease document come from RDL 29/2026, in force since 8 October 2026. Like every decree-law it must be validated by the Congreso within 30 days, and would be repealed if voted down. This article will be updated with the result.

For all four October 2026 rental decrees in one place, see Spain's rental decrees: what applies since 8 October 2026.

The short version

• A home let carries a cash deposit (fianza) of one month's rent. Other uses, such as offices and shops, carry two months.
• The LAU sets no deadline for returning the deposit. The unreturned balance earns legal interest once a month has passed since the keys came back.
• Since 2019, extra guarantees on a home lease of up to five years (seven with a company landlord) are capped at two months' rent. RDL 29 adds a one-month cap for temporary lets and bans requiring rent-default insurance.
• Since 24 January 2026 the Junta de Andalucía no longer takes in new deposits. Deposits lodged before then stay with the Junta until the contract ends.
• Catalonia, Madrid and Valencia still require the deposit to be lodged with a public body.

How much is the deposit?

Article 36.1 of the Ley de Arrendamientos Urbanos (LAU) makes a cash deposit compulsory: one month's rent for a home let, two months for other uses.

Since RDL 29/2026, a temporary home let (article 2.3: the tenant is away from their usual home for a justified reason that can be proved) counts as a home let, so it carries one month. Seasonal and temporary lets signed before 8 October 2026 stay lets for uses other than housing until the agreed term ends (LAU transitional provision 8), so the two-month deposit still applies to them. They end at that term with no extension. If a temporary let is renewed, the renewal follows the new temporary-let rules (transitional provision 8.2).

When interest starts

Article 36.4 sets no deadline for returning the deposit. It says the balance owed to the tenant at the end of the lease earns the legal rate of interest once a month has passed since the keys were handed back without it being returned.

The month only fixes when interest starts; the text ties the return itself to the end of the lease. In practice: inspect the property, agree any deductions in writing, and return the balance promptly.

Extra guarantees and rent-default insurance

On top of the deposit, the parties can agree an additional guarantee. Since 2019, article 36.5 caps it at two months' rent for a home lease of up to five years, or up to seven years where the landlord is a company or other legal entity. The text sets no cap for a longer, freely agreed term.

RDL 29/2026 adds two rules: the extra guarantee on a temporary let is capped at one month, and the landlord cannot require the tenant to take out rent-default insurance or similar cover in any case.

Separately, article 17.2 bars asking for more than one month's rent in advance.

The signed end-of-lease document

RDL 29/2026 also added article 36.7: at the end of the lease, landlord and tenant sign a document recording the condition of the home. If no document is signed, or the signed document lists no damage, the home is presumed to have been returned in adequate condition unless proved otherwise.

For agents, this means a signed check-out document at every handover: list every defect in it and attach photos. A deduction that is not in the document has to be proved some other way.

Which leases the new rules reach

For deposits and guarantees, leases signed before 26 May 2023 keep the rules in force when they were signed (Ley 12/2023, transitional provision 4), so the insurance ban and the end-of-lease document do not reach them. For other leases signed before 8 October 2026, temporary lets aside, the decree has no transitional rule on these two points. Check the contract date before relying on them for an existing lease.

Where you still lodge the deposit

The LAU lets each region require landlords to lodge deposits with a public body (additional provision 3). If that body does not refund the deposit within a month of the contract ending, legal interest runs on it too.

Region	Lodge it?	With whom	Deadline
Andalusia	No, for new deposits since 24 January 2026	The landlord keeps new deposits; older ones stay with the Junta until the contract ends	None
Catalonia	Yes (Llei 13/1996, art. 3.1)	INCASÒL	Two months from signing
Madrid	Yes (Decreto 181/1996, art. 4)	Agencia de Vivienda Social	Thirty days from the day after signing (check with the Agencia)
Valencia	Yes	Generalitat Valenciana	Within a month of signing, per the Generalitat's procedure page

Other regions have their own rules. Check the regional government's site before advising a landlord.

Andalusia: what changed in January

Ley 5/2025 de Vivienda de Andalucía (additional provision 6) says the Junta no longer acts as depositary for rental deposits from the law's entry into force on 24 January 2026. Deposits lodged before that date are returned by the Junta as those contracts end, at the request of the people concerned.

So for a new Andalusian lease the landlord keeps the fianza and returns it under the LAU rules above. For an older lease, the deposit is reclaimed from the Junta when the contract ends. The law lets the regional housing department add steps to the refund procedure (final provision 6), and we have not found any published yet.

Questions agents ask

Can a landlord ask for six months up front?

Not on a home lease of up to five years (seven with a company landlord). The most is one month's deposit, two months' extra guarantee and one month's rent in advance (articles 36.1, 36.5 and 17.2).

Can the landlord make the tenant take out rent-default insurance?

No. Article 36.5 says it, or similar cover, cannot be required in any case (added by RDL 29/2026, pending validation).

Does any of this apply to holiday lets?

Not to tourist lets. Article 5.e excludes stays of up to 31 days let under a region's tourism rules. Temporary home lets (article 2.3) are inside the LAU, with a one-month deposit and a one-month cap on extra guarantees. RDL 29 removed seasonal lets from the article 3 list of non-home lets, and the text does not say where a holiday let that is neither a tourist let nor a temporary let now falls. Seasonal lets signed before 8 October 2026 keep the old rules, including the two-month deposit, until they end.

This article explains the law as published; it is not legal advice for a specific contract. Sources: LAU, consolidated text (BOE); RDL 29/2026 (BOE); Ley 5/2025 de Vivienda de Andalucía (BOE); Llei 13/1996, Catalonia (BOE); Generalitat Valenciana deposit procedure; Madrid: Decreto 181/1996, Comunidad de Madrid.

PropertyList's Rentals Module records every deposit change against the agent responsible, so the history of each deposit is on file.