Staying with friends or relatives while you settle

Key rules

• Host consent: The town hall generally needs your host's signed authorization and ID copy before it registers you at their address.
• Sublet consent: If your host is a tenant, paying a regular fixed sum for a room needs the landlord's prior written consent.
• Lease clauses: Read the lease clauses on occupants and subletting before you move in.
• Sharing costs: Sharing groceries and part of the utilities is not usually treated as rent.

Settle three things before you arrive

A host stay works when three things are agreed up front: your host consents to your registering at their address, their lease allows you to live there, and you both know how you will share costs. Agree all three in plain words before you unpack. Surprises usually come from skipping one of them.

Registering in the padrón at your host's address

You will usually need to register in the padrón, and that needs your host's consent. The town hall generally asks the owner or main tenant to sign an authorization form. Your host also hands in a copy of their ID.

Bring your own passport, NIE or other ID, the town hall's completed registration form, and proof that the home can be occupied, such as a lease or deed. If your host is not the owner, they may need to show their rental contract.

Registration is free. You can ask for it in person, often with an appointment, or online if you have a digital certificate.

Details differ by town hall. Some want your host to come in person or sign the registration sheet with their ID. Ask your town hall before you go. The town hall may also inspect the home, so tell your host to expect that.

If someone else is already registered at the address, the town hall may ask them to confirm. Ask about this early.

Check the lease if your host rents

If your host rents, read the lease clauses on occupants and subletting before you move in. Nothing in the law caps how many guests a tenant may have. A tenant can normally have visitors, and a guest staying for free is generally tolerated if it is not a disguised sublet. But many leases limit the number of occupants or ban other people from living there. Community-of-owners rules can add limits, so for a doubtful clause have a lawyer read it.

Confirm that your host has the right to host you. Remember that you are not a party to the lease, so you have no rights against the landlord. If the landlord objects, your host carries the risk, and you may have to leave.

Sharing costs without creating a rental

Offer to share groceries and part of the utilities if you stay more than a few days. A modest contribution to real costs is not usually treated as rent. No fixed euro amount decides this. What counts is whether you pay a regular price for the use of a room.

If you pay a regular fixed sum for your room, it is in practice a room rental. Then:

• You must get the landlord's prior written consent to sublet part of the dwelling or assign the lease, or the landlord may terminate it. This applies if your host is a tenant.
• Put the agreement in writing with your host.
• Your host must declare the rent as taxable income.

If your host is a tenant and the lease is unclear, staying without paying or sharing only real costs is the safer choice.

Next steps

Use the checklist below to run through the conversation with your host, and the documents list for what to bring to the town hall. The decision section helps you pick how to contribute, and the FAQ covers common worries.

Choosing between options

How should you contribute to costs while staying with your host?

• Share groceries and a part of the utilities: Fits most stays, especially longer ones. A modest share of real costs is usually not treated as rent.

• Pay a regular fixed sum for your room: Fits if you and your host want a rental arrangement. Put it in writing. If your host is a tenant, you must get the landlord's prior written consent to sublet part of the dwelling, or the landlord may terminate the lease. The host also owes tax on the rent.

• Stay without paying: Fits a short or informal stay. It is generally tolerated if it is not a disguised sublet, but check the lease for an occupant clause.

A regular fixed payment for the room makes it a rental, so treat it as one.

Documents you need

• Your passport, NIE or other ID, to show at the town hall when you register in the padrón (the municipal residents' register).

• The town hall's completed padrón registration form.

• A signed authorization from the owner or main tenant allowing you to register at their address.

• A copy of your host's ID, handed in with the authorization.

• Proof of the right to occupy the home, such as a lease or deed.

• A written agreement with your host, only if you pay a regular fixed sum for a room.

Checklist

• Ask your host to agree to your registering in the padrón at their address.

• Ask your host to sign the authorization form and give you a copy of their ID.

• Ask to see the lease clauses on occupants and subletting.

• Confirm your host has the right to host you, and that the lease does not ban other people living there.

• Prepare for the town hall possibly inspecting the home.

Frequently asked questions

Can my host just let me stay if their lease says nothing about guests?

Usually yes: the law sets no cap on guests, and a tenant may have visitors freely. A long stay without paying is generally tolerated if it is not a disguised sublet. Still, ask to see any clause on occupants.

Do I have any rights against the landlord as a guest?

No, you are not a party to the lease, so your host is the one who answers to the landlord. If the lease is breached, you could have to leave.

Will sharing groceries and bills turn my stay into a rental?

Usually not, as long as you only cover real costs. What changes things is a regular fixed sum for the use of a room: that counts as rent, so the host's landlord must agree in writing and the host owes tax on that income.

What if I am already registered at the address by someone else?

The town hall may ask the person already registered to confirm. Ask your host to be ready to do that when you apply.