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RENTING

Renting in Spain: When can a landlord legally kick out a tenant?

What legitimate reasons can a property owner in Spain give to ask their tenant to leave?

Published: 7 November 2022 09:28 CET
Updated: 7 November 2023 12:55 CET
REASONS-EVICT-TENANT-SPAIN
Generally speaking, the breaching of any clause of the rental contract is justifiable grounds for evicting a tenant in Spain. (Photo by LOIC VENANCE / AFP)

There are good and bad landlords in Spain, and there also are good and bad tenants. Sometimes, the decision to end a rental agreement comes as a result of other reasons.

Either way, tenants and landlords alike may at some point need to consider the conditions under which a landlord can break the rental contract and require their tenants to leave. 

Here are the reasons which according to Spanish law can be given to end a rental agreement:

Not paying rent

An obvious one, as this is the tenant’s main contractual responsibility. If you don’t pay the rent, the landlord is within their rights to evict you if the payments break any late-payment agreements you might have. Be sure to check the contract, and as a landlord it may be worth getting rental default insurance if this happens.

READ ALSO: Is getting rental default insurance worth it for landlords in Spain?

Animals at home

Many rental contracts include clauses specifying whether the tenant can have pets in the house. Some landlords are happy to have pets, but if they specify that he or she doesn’t want animals in their property and the tenant breaks the terms of the contract, the landlord is within their rights to evict them.

Termination of the contract

When the rental contract actually ends, the tenant is obliged to leave the property. In this sense, the owner must communicate, at least 30 days in advance, his willingness not to renew the rental agreement. Otherwise, the lease will be extended.

READ ALSO: What’s the law on squatting in Spain?

Subletting

Most rental contacts in Spain expressly forbid the subletting of properties or rooms in the contract. If the tenant isn’t contractually allowed but sublets the property anyway, they can be kicked out.

READ ALSO: Is subletting ever legal in Spain?

Not keeping to comunidad rules

If a tenant doesn’t respect the rules of ‘la comunidad‘ (like a homeowner’s association) in the building where the rented property is located, the landlord could be within their rights to evict them. Often the landlord may be friendly with el presidente of the homeowner’s association, and violations could include any number of things, but generally relates to behaviour that is annoying, unhealthy, harmful, or dangerous to other residents.

In those cases, la comunidad itself could initiate legal action against the tenant with the aim of immediately evicting the tenant.

READ ALSO: ‘La comunidad’: What property owners in Spain need to know about homeowners’ associations

Illegal activities

It almost goes without saying, but if a tenant is undertaking illegal or illicit activities in the property the landlord is well within their rights to terminate the contract and kick the tenant out.

Doing work on the house

Tenants cannot carry out major works on the property without the express written consent of the owner. Any refurbishments that alter the configuration of the house (including storage rooms and parking spaces) must be agreed to in advance by the landlord. Otherwise, the tenant could be forced to repair the damage, and will likely have their rental contract terminated.

 

Purchase/sale of the property

If a landlord sells the property, the new owner can evict the tenant if they wish. If that does happen, tenants do have some legal rights and can’t be turfed out onto the street immediately – they can usually stay for a maximum of three months from when the property is sold.

The landlord needs the property

If the landlord or any of his or her family members (by blood, adoption or ex-husbands and wives) need the property for themselves, they must inform the tenant and grant them a two-month period to vacate the property. For this to be possible, the Urban Leases Law requires that at least one year of validity of contract has elapsed, and the landlord or family member must occupy the house within a maximum period of three months after the tenant is evicted.

Breach of contract

Generally speaking, the breaching of any clause of the rental contract is justifiable grounds for evicting a tenant. We have outlined several potential contract breaches above, but it is worth remembering that, technically, a landlord is within their rights to kick out a tenant for any breach of any clause in the contract – so be sure to read the small print.

READ ALSO: Tenant or landlord – Who pays which costs in Spain?

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SPANISH TRADITIONS

Everything you need to know about Mother’s Day in Spain

Here's how and when in May Mother's Day is celebrated in Spain, and why it owes its roots to religion and a Valencian poet.

Published: 3 May 2024 13:37 CEST
Everything you need to know about Mother's Day in Spain

This year, Mother’s Day (El Día de la Madre) is celebrated in Spain on Sunday May 5th. It’s always celebrated on the first Sunday of the month of May.

On this day, young children in Spain give their mothers manualidades (crafts) they’ve made at school as a token of their love.

Husbands and older sons and daughters may buy their wives/mothers a present to say thanks for all that they do as matriarchs, which usually takes the form of a detalle (smaller present than for a birthday or Christmas), and will come accompanied by a message such as te quiero, mamá (I love you, mum).

According to experiences website Aladinia, the average Spaniards spends €65 on gifts on Mother’s Day. 

Other mums may send out text messages to wish each other ¡Feliz Día de la Madre! (Happy Mother’s Day!).

As it’s always celebrated on a Sunday, many shops will be closed but you can expect plenty of restaurants to be open for lunch and perhaps dinner. 

Depending where you’re from, the first Sunday of May may or may not be when you’re used to celebrating Mother’s Day in your home country.

Around the world over 100 countries celebrate Mother’s Day (or Mothering Sunday, more on the difference below) – 77 in May, 13 in March, and 14 at other times during the year.

Some countries, like the UK, celebrate Mothering Sunday on the fourth Sunday during Lent, meaning that the date changes each year. This is because Mothering Sunday was originally a Christian holiday in some European countries.

READ ALSO: How a female teacher campaigned for Spain to have a Father’s Day

Spain, however, celebrates Mother’s Day on the first Sunday in May each year, meaning that it doesn’t have a fixed date either. But it wasn’t always like that.

The history of Mother’s Day in Spain

The first Mother’s Day in Spain was celebrated in Madrid all the way back on October 4th, 1926. Much of the impetus for establishing a day to celebrate mothers came, rather fittingly, from a poet.

Julio Menéndez García, a Valencian poet and public servant, pushed for a special day to celebrate mothers. Spanish newspaper La Libertad published a short section on Garcìa’s efforts in October 1925:

“A Levantine poet, Julio Menéndez García, has had the happy initiative that in Spain and in the Spanish-speaking nations a day should be consecrated to extol the love of mothers. The establishment of Mother’s Day is something tender and sympathetic, which deserves to be welcomed by governments, the press and public opinion, as it involves the highest tribute to women in their most august representation.”

After the Civil War, the church moved the date to December 8th to coincide with the Feast of the Immaculate Conception, a key holiday among Catholics. 

Civil War-era poster urging Madrid mothers to leave the Spanish capital with their children before the arrival of Franco’s troops. (Photo by AFP)

But it wasn’t until 1965 that Mother’s Day was celebrated in May in Spain. The reason for this change of date was to separate the celebrations (both were considered important enough to have their own day) but also the influence of other countries, namely the United States.

The campaign for a Mother’s Day was originally started by Anna Jarvis, an American wanting to honour her mother, in 1908. By 1914, US President Woodrow Wilson officially signed it into law, establishing a May date. 

However, for many years in Spain department store El Corte Inglés maintained the date of 8th December, meaning that Spain Mother’s Day was celebrated twice a year for a while, commercially speaking at least.

In 1936 a local council in Breña Baja, on the Canary island of La Palma, became the first in Spain to move Mother’s Day to May.

However, in 1965 the church authorities officially decided to move Mother’s Day to May, a month consecrated to the Virgin Mary. May is also the month of female gods in the classical world, and in Catholicism is dedicated to the Virgin Mary.

Interestingly, Jarvis herself later campaigned against the day, arguing it had become overly commercialised, something Spaniards often bemoan about other imported American customs like Halloween and Valentine’s Day. 

READ ALSO: How a female teacher campaigned for Spain to have a Father’s Day

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