The new rental conditions

Law 29/1994 of 24 November on Urban Leases regulates residential tenancy agreements with the aim of establishing the rights and obligations of both landlords and tenants. This year, a new update to Article 20 has come into force. Here we explain the current regulations.

The new Article 20 establishes an agreement regarding the payment of the general expenses of the property and the individual service costs of the rented dwelling.

1. The parties may agree that the general expenses for the proper maintenance of the building, its services, taxes, charges and liabilities that cannot be individually allocated and correspond to the rented property or its annexes shall be paid by the tenant.

When renting out a property, it is important to consider the duration of the tenancy agreement and whether the landlord is an individual or a legal entity. Article 9, paragraph 1, states that the duration of the tenancy shall be freely agreed upon by the parties. If the landlord is an individual, the minimum term is five years. If the landlord is a legal entity, the minimum term is seven years.

Regarding contract renewals, Article 10 states that once the minimum period of five years, or seven years in the case of a legal entity, has elapsed, the contract will be automatically renewed for annual periods up to a maximum of three additional years, unless the tenant notifies the landlord at least one month before the end of any annual period of their intention not to renew the contract.

Finally, we refer to the new conditions affecting residential tenancy agreements when the property is located in a designated high-demand residential market area. Article 17, which regulates rent, states in paragraph 6 that the rent agreed at the start of a new tenancy agreement may not exceed the rent of the previous permanent residence lease. It may only be increased, in addition to the annual rent update established in the previous contract, by a maximum of 10% in the specific cases provided for in paragraph 6 of the same article.

With regard to Article 17, Sant Feliu de Guíxols is currently considered a high-demand residential market area, whereas Santa Cristina d'Aro has not yet been included.

If you are thinking of renting out your property or renting a home, Finques Santa Cristina and Immo el Portalet can help you manage the process and keep you informed of all current legal changes.