Rental Contract Types in Spain: Habitual, Temporada and Tourist Lets Under the LAU (2026)

Spain’s Ley de Arrendamientos Urbanos (LAU, Ley 29/1994) divides every urban tenancy into two in-scope categories: arrendamiento de vivienda (residential, Title II) and arrendamiento para uso distinto del de vivienda (non-residential, Title III, which includes seasonal or temporada contracts). Tourist lets are excluded entirely under Article 5(e) and fall under regional tourism law. The category you choose determines the minimum lease length, tenant security, deposit amount, rent-update rules and tax treatment. Getting it wrong means a court can reclassify your seasonal contract as residential, or fine you for an unregistered tourist let.

What are the three rental contract types under the LAU?

The LAU recognises two in-scope categories and one excluded category: residential leases (arrendamiento de vivienda, Article 2, Title II) for permanent housing, non-residential leases (arrendamiento para uso distinto, Article 3, Title III) including seasonal lets, and tourist lets excluded under Article 5(e) and governed by regional tourism law.

Article 2 defines a residential lease as one whose “destino primordial” is to satisfy the tenant’s permanent housing need. Article 3 defines everything else, explicitly listing seasonal lets (arrendamientos por temporada, “sea de verano o cualquier otra”), industrial, commercial, artisanal, professional, recreational, care, cultural or teaching purposes. The preamble explains the rationale: the law grants protective measures to tenants only where the lease satisfies a permanent housing need, not where it serves economic, recreational or administrative needs.

The third category, tourist lets (viviendas de uso turistico), was excluded from the LAU by the 2013 reform (Ley 4/2013). Article 5(e) excludes the “cesion temporal de uso de la totalidad de una vivienda amueblada y equipada en condiciones de uso inmediato, comercializada o promocionada en canales de oferta turistica”. These lets are regulated by Spain’s autonomous communities under their own tourism regimes, not by the LAU. On the Costa del Sol, this means the Andalusian VFT (vivienda con fines turisticos) framework, which we cover in our guide to short-let rules.

How does a vivienda habitual contract work?

A residential lease under LAU Title II has a statutory minimum of 5 years for individual landlords or 7 years for corporate landlords, with mandatory annual extensions to reach that minimum, a 3-year tacit renewal thereafter under Article 10, and strong tenant protections including a 6-month desistimiento right.

Article 9.1 sets the minimum duration. If the parties agree a shorter initial term, the contract auto-extends annually until it reaches 5 years (or 7 if the landlord is a persona juridica). The tenant can leave after 6 months with 30 days notice under Article 11, but the parties may agree that the tenant indemnifies the landlord with one month’s rent per remaining year. A landlord can recover the property for their own or a first-degree relative’s permanent use after the first year, but only if this need was stated at the time of signing (Article 9.3).

After the 5- or 7-year minimum, if neither party gives notice, the contract tacitly renews for up to 3 more years (Article 10.1). Ley 12/2023 added two extraordinary extensions. Article 10.2 allows a tenant in documented social and economic vulnerability to request up to 1 extra year; this is mandatory if the landlord is a “gran tenedor” (a holder of more than 10 urban residential properties or more than 1,500 square metres of residential built surface, as defined in Ley 12/2023 Article 3.k). Article 10.3 allows up to 3 extra years for tenants in declared zonas tensionadas (stressed market zones), where the housing cost burden plus basic supplies exceeds 30 per cent of average household income, or where prices have grown 3 percentage points above regional CPI over five years.

The deposit (fianza) under Article 36 is one month’s rent for residential leases. Our guide to the rental deposit (fianza) explains how each autonomous community manages the deposit holding and return rules. Rent updates on contracts signed after 26 May 2023 use the INE-published IRAV index, which replaced the old CPI mechanism, as we explain in our LAU statute guide.

What is a temporada (seasonal) contract and when is it valid?

A temporada contract is a non-residential lease under LAU Article 3, Title III, used for temporary accommodation that is not the tenant’s permanent residence. There is no statutory minimum duration, no mandatory extension, and no residential tenant security. The parties freely agree all terms under Article 4.3.

The LAU preamble describes seasonal lets as part of the “uso distinto” category, which includes second residences and seasonal lets alongside commercial and professional use. Common legitimate uses include a work assignment, a study period, medical treatment, or a defined holiday period. The key legal test is whether the lease satisfies a permanent housing need (Article 2) or a temporary one (Article 3).

Article 4.3 makes Title III fundamentally different from Title II: the parties’ free will governs, with Title III rules acting only as a supplement where the parties have not agreed otherwise, and the Civil Code as the final backstop. There is no mandatory minimum duration, no annual extension, and no tacit renewal under the LAU (tacit reconduction follows Civil Code Article 1566 instead). The deposit under Article 36 is two months’ rent for uso distinto contracts, double the residential amount.

However, Spanish courts apply a substance-over-form test. If a temporada contract is used to house someone who is in fact living there permanently, a court can reclassify it as a residential lease under Title II, retroactively triggering the 5-year minimum and all tenant protections. Indicators courts examine include the length of the let, whether the tenant has registered on the padron (empadronamiento) at the property, whether they have moved their main belongings there, and whether the contract states a genuine temporary purpose. Some landlords on the Costa del Sol use temporada contracts as a workaround to avoid the LAU’s residential protections, particularly to let to tourists without registering as a VFT. This carries significant legal risk, as our guide to renting out property as a non-resident explains.

How do tourist lets (VFT) differ from LAU contracts?

Tourist lets are excluded from the LAU under Article 5(e). They are governed by regional tourism law, not tenancy law. In Andalusia, the VFT regime requires registration and, since February 2025, 60 per cent community-of-owners approval. Unregistered tourist lets face fines under Andalusia’s enforcement scale.

The Article 5(e) exclusion applies to the “cesion temporal de uso de la totalidad de una vivienda amueblada y equipada en condiciones de uso inmediato, comercializada o promocionada en canales de oferta turistica”. Three conditions must all be met: the entire furnished dwelling is ceded for immediate use, it is marketed or promoted through tourist offer channels, and it is done for profit. If any element is missing, the let may fall back under the LAU as a residential or seasonal contract.

A temporada contract cannot substitute for VFT registration. If the actual use is tourist accommodation, the property should be registered under the VFT regime. Using a temporada contract to disguise a tourist let carries dual risk: a court can reclassify it as residential (triggering the 5-year minimum), and an unregistered tourist let can attract fines under Andalusia’s enforcement scale. Our guide to Costa del Sol short-let rules covers the VFT registration process and the 2025 community-veto reform.

Which index updates rent on a contract signed after May 2023?

Contracts signed after 26 May 2023, when Ley 12/2023 entered into force, update rent using the IRAV (Indice de Referencia de Arrendamientos de Vivienda) published monthly by the INE. The IRAV for May 2026 is 2.48 per cent annual variation. It replaced CPI as the reference under LAU Article 18.

The IRAV is defined as the minimum of the annual CPI rate, the annual core CPI rate, and the adjusted average rates measured against a medium-term expected-inflation parameter with a moderating coefficient. The design prevents disproportionate rent increases. For contracts signed before 26 May 2023, the original update mechanism (CPI or whatever the parties agreed) continues to apply. In declared zonas tensionadas, Ley 12/2023 Article 17.6 caps the new contract rent at the last rent applied to the same dwelling in the previous five years, with a maximum 10 per cent uplift for documented rehabilitation or efficiency improvements. Article 17.7 adds a stricter cap for gran tenedores, tying the rent to a reference price index system.

For non-resident landlords, the tax treatment does not change with the contract type: rental income from any contract is taxed under the IRNR, which we cover in our IRNR guide. An empty property held by a non-resident triggers the imputed income charge instead, as our guide to non-resident property holding taxes explains.

What are the tax differences between the contract types?

For resident landlords, all rental income is rendimientos del capital inmobiliario in IRPF, but an empty property triggers imputacion de rentas inmobiliarias under Article 85 of Ley 35/2006. For non-resident landlords, rental income is taxed under the IRNR. The contract type does not change the rate, but determines whether the property counts as rented or empty.

The Agencia Tributaria distinguishes between rented property, which generates rendimientos del capital inmobiliario, and empty or non-rented property, which triggers imputacion de rentas inmobiliarias. A vivienda habitual tenant may be eligible for the tenant rental deduction (for contracts before 1 January 2015) and autonomous community deductions. A temporada tenant generates rental income but without the same tenant-side deductions.

The contract type itself does not change the tax rate: what matters is whether the property is rented (generating rental income) or empty (generating imputed income). Our guide to selling property as a non-resident explains the CGT and retention mechanics that apply when you exit a rental property.

Rental contract types comparison

Feature	Vivienda habitual (Art 2, Title II)	Temporada (Art 3, Title III)	Tourist let (Art 5(e) excluded)
LAU status	In scope, full Title II protections	In scope, Title III, free will of parties	Excluded from LAU
Minimum duration	5 years (individual), 7 years (corporate)	None; parties agree freely	None (regional tourism law)
Mandatory extension	Annual to reach 5 or 7 year minimum (Art 9)	None	None
Tacit renewal	3 years after minimum (Art 10)	Civil Code Art 1566 tacit reconduction	None
Extraordinary extension	1 year (vulnerability, Art 10.2) or 3 years (stressed zone, Art 10.3)	None	None
Tenant desistimiento	After 6 months, 30 days notice (Art 11)	Parties agree	N/A
Landlord recovery	Art 9.3 own or family use after year 1	Parties agree	N/A
Fianza (Art 36)	1 month’s rent	2 months’ rent	Not required by LAU
Additional guarantee	Max 2 months for 5 or 7 year contracts	No statutory cap	N/A
Rent update	IRAV index (post-Ley 12/2023); CPI cap for older contracts	Free will of parties	Free
Stressed-zone rent cap	Art 17.6 (last rent + 10pc max); Art 17.7 for gran tenedores	Not applicable	Not applicable
Eviction grounds	Art 27 LAU (express eviction)	Civil Code and parties	Regional tourism enforcement
Reclassification risk	None (this is the protected type)	Court can reclassify as residential	Unregistered lets face fines

Which rental contract type should you choose?

Choose vivienda habitual for a long-term tenant who will live in the property as their permanent home. Choose temporada for a genuinely temporary occupant with a defined end date and purpose. Choose VFT only if you register under the Andalusian tourist regime and obtain community approval. Never use temporada to disguise a tourist let.

If the tenant will live in the property as their permanent residence, use a vivienda habitual contract. The LAU’s protections apply, the minimum duration is 5 or 7 years, and the deposit is one month. If the occupant has a genuine temporary purpose (work, study, medical treatment, a defined holiday), a temporada contract is appropriate, with no minimum duration and a two-month deposit. If you intend to let to tourists for short stays, you must register under the VFT regime. Our eviction process guide covers what happens when a residential tenant stops paying, and our rental deposit guide explains the deposit return rules.

This guide is general information, not legal or tax advice. Rules change and individual circumstances differ. Verify current requirements with an independent lawyer (abogado) or tax advisor (gestor/asesor fiscal) before acting.