Templates · letting property in Spain · LAU
Formal notice to a tenant in Spain, sent from abroad
For owners who let a home in Spain and live in the UK, the Netherlands, Germany or elsewhere. Two templates, a demand for unpaid rent and a notice of non-renewal, with the notice periods in the Spanish Tenancy Act.
Under Spain’s Tenancy Act (LAU), a landlord can only decline to renew a long-term let once it has lasted five years, or seven if the landlord is a company, and must tell the tenant at least four months before the end date (art. 10.1). For unpaid rent, if a demand sent by a verifiable means arrived at least 30 days before an eviction claim and the rent was still unpaid when the claim was filed, the tenant can’t end the case just by paying (LEC, art. 22.4). A burofax proves what you sent and when the tenant received it.
Notice periods in the Tenancy Act
These apply to a home let as the tenant’s main residence (vivienda habitual) under the current wording of the LAU.
| Situation | Notice | Source |
|---|---|---|
| First five years (seven if the landlord is a company) | The tenancy renews each year whatever the landlord wants. The tenant can leave at the end of any year with 30 days’ notice. | art. 9.1 |
| Landlord needs the home for themselves or close family | Two months before the date needed. Only for individual landlords, after the first year, if the contract said so. | art. 9.3 |
| After five or seven years: not renewing | Landlord at least four months before the end date; tenant at least two. Otherwise it renews yearly for up to three more years. | art. 10.1 |
| Tenant leaving early | After six months, with 30 days’ notice. | art. 11.1 |
Changes made by two royal decree-laws
A royal decree-law (real decreto-ley) is a government decree with the force of law that the Spanish Congress then ratifies or repeals. Two of them, both of 6 October 2026, change these rules. Both are pending ratification by the Spanish Congress as of 22 October 2026.
- Royal Decree-law 28/2026, from 15 November 2026, rewrites art. 10 LAU. The landlord’s notice of non-renewal becomes at least six months; if nobody gives notice, the tenancy renews for five-year periods (seven for a company landlord); and a landlord who doesn’t renew owes the tenant compensation, except in the cases it lists, which have to be stated in the notice. Where less than six months of the contract or renewal remain when it takes effect, the landlord can still give four months’ notice.
- Royal Decree-law 29/2026, in force since 8 October 2026, allows an extraordinary extension for some tenancies, adds the check-out document of art. 36.7 LAU, and adds a route for economically vulnerable tenants to stop an eviction for unpaid rent even after a formal demand (art. 22.6 LEC).
Unpaid rent: the usual order
- A demand for the rent. List each unpaid month and the total. The 30 days of art. 22.4 LEC run between the demand and filing the claim; the time you give to pay in the letter is separate.
- An attempt to negotiate. Since 3 April 2025, a civil claim generally needs a prior attempt at an out-of-court solution (the MASC requirement, LO 1/2025, art. 5). You can add a payment-plan offer to template 1.
- The eviction claim (demanda de desahucio). Filed in the local court, with its own requirements. A letter doesn’t replace it. If the tenancy is registered in the Land Registry and the contract has an automatic termination clause, ending it that way needs a court or notarial demand, and a burofax isn’t enough (art. 27.4 LAU).
Why the notice goes in Spanish
Your tenant has to understand it, and a Spanish judge may read it later. Send it in Spanish, or Spanish first with your English below. Each template has an English gloss so you can check what you’re signing.
Template 1: demand for unpaid rent
It itemises the debt so the figure can be checked, says it is made for the purposes of art. 22.4 LEC, and gives a contact in Spain if you have one.
Asunto: Requerimiento de pago de rentas
Estimado/a [tenant’s name]:
Como arrendador/a de la vivienda situada en [full address], que usted ocupa en virtud del contrato de arrendamiento firmado el [contract date], le comunico que a día de hoy tiene pendientes de pago las siguientes cantidades:
1. Renta de [month and year]: [amount] €.
2. Renta de [month and year]: [amount] €.
[optional: utilities, community fees or other amounts the contract puts on the tenant, with amounts]
Total pendiente: [total] €.
Le requiero el pago de esa cantidad en el plazo de [number, e.g. diez] días naturales desde la recepción de este burofax, mediante transferencia a la cuenta IBAN [IBAN]. Este requerimiento se efectúa a los efectos del artículo 22.4 de la Ley de Enjuiciamiento Civil.
Resido fuera de España. Puede contactar conmigo en [email and phone] [if you have one: o con (name of agent or contact in Spain), en (phone)].
Si ya ha realizado el pago, le ruego que me envíe el justificante y que no tenga en cuenta este requerimiento.
Atentamente,
[full name, NIE or passport number]
English gloss of this letter
Subject: Demand for payment of rent
Dear [tenant’s name],
As landlord of the home at [address], which you occupy under the tenancy contract signed on [date], I inform you that the following amounts are unpaid today:
1. Rent for [month and year]: [amount] €.
2. Rent for [month and year]: [amount] €.
[Other amounts the contract puts on the tenant.]
Total outstanding: [total] €.
I demand payment of that amount within [number] calendar days of receiving this burofax, by transfer to IBAN [IBAN]. This demand is made for the purposes of article 22.4 of the Civil Procedure Act.
I live outside Spain. You can contact me at [email and phone] [or (agent or contact in Spain) on (phone)].
If you have already paid, please send me proof of payment and disregard this demand.
Yours sincerely, [name, NIE or passport number]
Send this letter (the Spanish subject line is filled in; paste your text once you’ve adapted it).
Template 2: notice of non-renewal
For a tenancy that has reached five years (seven for a company landlord). The notice period is counted back from the end date. For end dates from 15 November 2026, Royal Decree-law 28/2026 sets six months’ notice, subject to the transitional rule above, and any reason that rules out compensation has to be stated in writing in the notice. The decree-law is pending ratification by the Spanish Congress as of 22 October 2026.
Asunto: Comunicación de no renovación del contrato de arrendamiento
Estimado/a [tenant’s name]:
En relación con el contrato de arrendamiento de la vivienda situada en [full address], firmado el [contract date], cuyo [«plazo» (term) or «prórroga en curso» (current renewal)] vence el [end date], le comunico mi voluntad de no renovarlo.
Le envío esta comunicación con al menos [«cuatro» (four) or «seis» (six)] meses de antelación a esa fecha, conforme al artículo 10.1 de la Ley de Arrendamientos Urbanos. [if it applies, for end dates from 15 November 2026: the reason under art. 10.2 as worded by Royal Decree-law 28/2026, stated in full]
Le ruego que ese día deje la vivienda libre y entregue las llaves a [«mí» (me) or the name of your agent in Spain], con quien puede acordar la hora en [phone or email]. Le propongo revisar juntos ese día el estado de la vivienda y firmar el documento de finalización del arrendamiento.
La fianza se liquidará conforme al artículo 36 de la Ley de Arrendamientos Urbanos.
Atentamente,
[full name, NIE or passport number, current address]
English gloss of this letter
Subject: Notice of non-renewal of the tenancy contract
Dear [tenant’s name],
Regarding the tenancy contract for the home at [address], signed on [date], whose [term / current renewal] ends on [date], I give notice that I do not wish to renew it.
I am sending this notice at least [four / six] months before that date, under article 10.1 of the Tenancy Act. [Reason under art. 10.2, if it applies.]
Please vacate the home on that day and hand the keys to [me / my agent], with whom you can arrange the time on [phone or email]. I suggest we check the condition of the home together that day and sign the end-of-tenancy document.
The deposit will be settled under article 36 of the Tenancy Act.
Yours sincerely, [name, NIE or passport number, current address]
Send this letter (the Spanish subject line is filled in; paste your text once you’ve adapted it).
What to attach, and what to keep
- The tenancy contract and any annexes, with the rent and the account it’s paid into.
- Bank statements showing which months were not paid.
- Earlier messages in which you asked for the rent, or the tenant admitted owing it.
- For non-renewal: proof of the start date (the contract, or the date the tenant got the keys), since the five years count from there.
- Afterwards, the proof of delivery and the certified copy. The proof of delivery gives the date the tenant received the demand.
What usually happens next
- The tenant pays, or proposes a payment plan and you agree it in writing.
- The tenant disputes the amount, and the reply shows where you disagree.
- No payment, no reply, or the burofax isn’t collected, and the proof of delivery records it. If you then file an eviction claim, it has to state whether the tenant can still stop it by paying (art. 439.3 LEC).
When the tenant leaves, the deposit has to be settled. The other side of that, from the tenant’s point of view, is on our deposit page.
Sending it with proof
You can send it from wherever you live; only the tenant’s address has to be in Spain, normally the let property itself. Your address abroad goes on the letter as the sender.
Through us, a Correos burofax with proof of delivery (acuse de recibo) and certified content (certificación de contenido) costs €49.90 for up to 3 pages. A certified notification from Notificados costs €29.90. Notificados is a trusted third party, and that option is not a Correos burofax. You see the exact PDF before you pay, nothing is sent or charged until you approve it, and if we can’t send it you get a full refund.
The templates and legal references on this page are general information, not an assessment of your case. We are a sending service, not a law firm, and we don’t check whether a letter is enough for what you want to achieve. You decide what to write and what to ask for. A legal professional can assess your case.