Checking out of temporary housing: deposit, cleaning and final bills

Terms used

• Fianza — The fianza is the deposit a tenant pays as security for the lease, capped at one month's rent for normal long-term leases.
• Burofax — A burofax is a formal letter sent through the post office that proves what you sent and when it was delivered.
• Proceso monitorio — The proceso monitorio is a fast court procedure to claim a documented, undisputed debt of up to €2,000 without a lawyer.
• Juicio verbal — The juicio verbal is a simplified court procedure for disputed civil claims up to €6,000.

Key rules

• Deductions: The host can deduct only for damage, missing items, unpaid bills or excessive dirt, and should prove each one.
• Cleaning fee: A cleaning fee must appear in your contract or listing, or you can challenge it.
• Utilities: You normally don't cancel anything when you leave, because supply contracts stay in the owner's name.
• Refund timing: For direct and seasonal rentals the contract sets the refund deadline, so read it before you leave.
• Paying: Pay through the platform or by traceable methods, and get a signed receipt for any cash.

What deposits look like

Amounts are set by custom, not by law, so they vary by city, season and host.

• Tourist flats booked through a platform: often no deposit, or a refundable damage deposit of roughly €100–€300. It is held by the host or as a card pre-authorisation.
• Tourist flats booked directly: commonly €100–€500, in cash or by transfer.
• Seasonal rentals (under 11 months): usually one to two months' rent. The one-month cap on a fianza applies to normal long-term leases, not to seasonal ones, so two months is common.

How you should have paid

Paying through the platform protects you best. It keeps the money, records everything and has a dispute process. Card payment is next, because a chargeback is possible. Bank transfer leaves a trace but is hard to reverse. Cash is weakest: get a signed receipt, and remember that large cash payments for rent are restricted, so use traceable methods.

What the host can deduct, and what they can't

A host can deduct only for:

• damage beyond normal wear
• missing items from the inventory
• unpaid bills
• extra cleaning because of excessive dirt

The host should justify each deduction with photos, invoices or an itemised list. Ordinary wear and everyday tidiness cannot be charged.

Cleaning fees. Tourist flats usually show a fixed fee at booking, often €30–€100 depending on size. Seasonal rentals may charge a final cleaning fee of about €50–€150 if the contract says so. A fee that appears in neither the contract nor the listing can be challenged. Leave the place tidy anyway, so nobody can claim extra dirt.

Final bills

• Tourist flats: utilities are included in the price.
• Seasonal rentals: utilities are either included, often with a fair-use cap, or billed by consumption. Read your contract to see which, and how any excess is calculated.

If they are billed by consumption, note and photograph the electricity, gas and water meters at check-in and check-out. You then settle by transfer or against the deposit.

You normally don't cancel anything. The supply contracts stay in the owner's name. A bill that arrives after you leave is usually deducted from the deposit, or the owner invoices you with proof.

When the money should come back

• Platform bookings: the platform and listing set the timing. Card holds usually release within days of check-out if there is no claim. On Airbnb, a host typically has about 14 days after check-out, or until the next guest arrives if that is sooner, to claim damages.
• Direct and seasonal rentals: no fixed legal deadline clearly applies, so the contract decides. Many seasonal contracts say 15–30 days. Tourist-flat stays commonly use 7–14 days. If the contract is silent, the host must return the deposit without undue delay once the property is checked. A formal demand puts them in default and starts legal interest.

If the deposit doesn't arrive

Go step by step and keep everything in writing.

1. Send a written reminder to the host or agency with a deadline. The message template below helps.
2. If you booked through a platform, open a dispute in its resolution centre. Keep all messages in the platform chat.
3. Send a burofax, which is a formal demand with proof of delivery.
4. Complain to the consumer office (OMIC at your town hall, or your region's consumer body). It can mediate but cannot force payment. A private landlord may fall outside consumer rules. For tourist flats, you can also complain to the regional tourism authority.
5. Go to court. The proceso monitorio is a fast order-for-payment route for overdue money debts of up to €250,000. For disputed claims up to €6,000, a juicio verbal applies. In both routes, you need no lawyer for amounts up to €2,000, but above that you do. Since April 2025, you must usually try an out-of-court settlement first, such as mediation or a documented negotiation. Claim the deposit plus legal interest.

Ask your local court to confirm the current limits and the settlement requirement before you file.

The checklist, process steps and decision guide below walk you through the handover itself.

Choosing between options

How will cleaning and final bills be settled when you leave?

• Fixed cleaning fee only: Your listing or contract shows a set fee, such as €30–€100 for a tourist flat. Pay that and nothing more for ordinary tidiness.

• Utilities included, no meter settlement: The price includes utilities, as in tourist flats, or a seasonal rental with a fair-use cap. You only pay if you go over the cap.

• Utilities billed by consumption: Your seasonal contract bills separately. Compare the check-in and check-out meter readings, then pay by transfer or let the amount come off the deposit.

• Deduction from the deposit: The host claims damage beyond normal wear, missing inventory, unpaid bills or agreed extra cleaning. Ask for photos, invoices or an itemised list.

Only what your contract or listing states can be charged. Utilities included means no meter settlement; billed separately means settle by the readings. Deductions need proof.

Getting your deposit back after check-out

From check-out to refund

• Do a joint check-out inspection with the host or their agent, and take dated photos or video, meter readings and key-return proof.: on check-out day, before you leave

• Return the keys and get written or messaged confirmation of the handover.: on check-out day

• Wait for the host to tell you in writing what they deduct and why, with photos, invoices or quotes.: after check-out; platform stays commonly 7 to 14 days, seasonal contracts often 15 to 30 days

• If you hear nothing, send a written refund request with your IBAN and a reply deadline of 7 to 15 days.: once the usual return time in your listing or contract has passed

• Receive the full deposit, or the balance after justified deductions, by bank transfer. A card-hold deposit simply releases if no claim is made.: within the time your listing or contract sets

• Gather your contract or booking confirmation, proof of payment, dated photos or video, meter readings, key-return proof, the host's acknowledgment and all messages with the host.: before you send any request or claim; you have these from the host, the platform and your own records

• If the host refuses or deducts without justification, ask for the reasons and evidence in writing. Normal wear and a fee not in your contract or listing cannot be charged. Then send a final formal demand with a reply deadline of 5 to 10 days.: if the host refuses or deducts without proof

• Open a dispute through the platform's resolution centre if you booked there. Send a burofax, a formal demand with proof of date and content. Complain to your town hall's consumer office (OMIC) or the regional consumer body, which can mediate but cannot force payment. For tourist flats, you can also complain to the regional tourism authority.: if the deadline passes with no refund

• Claim the deposit plus legal interest in court. For debts up to 2,000 euros, the order-for-payment procedure (proceso monitorio) needs no lawyer. Since April 2025, you must first try an out-of-court settlement, such as mediation or a documented negotiation.: if the formal demand also goes unanswered

Check-out and handover checklist for temporary housing

Check-out and handover checklist

• Confirm access to your next home before you leave: check that its start date is written, dated and unconditional, and that you know how and when you get the keys.

• Take dated photos or a video of every room, including floors, appliances and walls.

• Check the inventory against the host's list and photograph anything missing or damaged.

• Photograph the meter readings if utilities are billed separately.

• Tidy up, take out the rubbish and leave a basic clean. Any final cleaning fee in your contract or listing covers the rest.

• Switch off the lights, air conditioning and taps, and leave by the stated check-out time.

• Return the keys by handover, lockbox or leaving them inside, and photograph or record how you did it.

• Ask the host for a written acknowledgment, such as a signed note or a message saying all is fine and the deposit will be returned.

• If the host will not acknowledge the condition, send the same summary and photos by platform message, email or WhatsApp. The timestamps work as evidence.

• Message the host that you have left and describe the state of the place.

• Ask for your deposit back in writing, with your IBAN, once you have left.

• Keep all photos, messages, the contract and proof of payment until the deposit is back in your account.

What to watch out for

• Paying outside the platform: If a host asks you to pay or settle a deposit outside the platform, you lose its payment record, held funds and dispute process. Pay and communicate only through the platform when you booked there, and refuse requests to move the deal elsewhere.

• Full prepayment by transfer before viewing: A bank transfer is traceable but hard to reverse, so it is a common route for fake listings. Do not send the full amount by transfer before you have seen the place. Prefer the platform or a card, which allows a chargeback.

• Paying in cash: Cash is the weakest method: there is no trace, and large cash rent payments are restricted by Spanish anti-fraud rules. Use a traceable method. If you must pay cash, get a signed receipt showing the amount, the date and what it covers.

Message to request your deposit refund

Subject: Request for refund of my deposit – [booking or contract reference]

Hello [host or landlord name],

I stayed at [address of the property] from [check-in date] to [check-out date]. I handed back the keys on [check-out date] by [handover in person / lockbox / other].

I am writing to ask for the return of my deposit.

• Deposit amount: [amount] euros
• Booking or contract reference: [reference]
• Check-out date: [check-out date]
• Name on the booking: [your full name]
• IBAN for the refund: [your IBAN]

Please reply within [7 to 15 days] of receiving this message and tell me:

1. The date on which you will return the full deposit.
2. If you plan to keep any part of it, the exact amount, the reason, and proof of the damage or cost, such as photos, an invoice or a quote.

I left the property in good condition. I have dated photos, [a video,] and my check-out message to you, and I will keep them as a record.

If I do not hear from you by the date above, I will send a formal demand and may ask for legal interest on the amount. I may also take the matter to the consumer office or to court.

Thank you, and I look forward to your reply.

[Your full name] [Your phone number and email] [Date of sending]

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Before you send it

• Fill in every blank in square brackets and delete the options that do not apply.
• Send it in writing so that the date is recorded. A platform message or an email works. Keep a copy.
• If there is no reply, send a second, final demand with a deadline of 5 to 10 days. Use a burofax (a certified letter with proof of delivery and content) for the strongest proof. Change the second paragraph to say this is your final demand and name the date of your first message.

Frequently asked questions

How much deposit is normal for a short stay or seasonal rental?

Tourist flats booked on a platform often take no deposit, or a refundable one of roughly €100–€300. Direct bookings commonly ask €100–€500. Seasonal rentals typically ask one to two months' rent, because the one-month cap on ordinary leases does not apply to them.

Can the host charge me for cleaning?

Only if the fee is in your contract or listing. Tourist flats usually show a fixed fee of €30–€100 at booking, and seasonal rentals may charge about €50–€150. Normal wear and ordinary tidiness cannot be charged, and a fee that was never stated can be challenged.

Do I have to cancel the electricity, gas or water when I leave?

No, you don't need to cancel anything. These contracts stay in the owner's name. If utilities are billed separately, a final bill that arrives after you leave is usually taken from your deposit or invoiced by the owner with proof.

How long can the host keep my deposit?

For a platform booking, card-hold deposits usually release within days of checkout. On Airbnb a host has about 14 days after checkout to claim damages, or until the next guest checks in if that is sooner. For a direct or seasonal rental, your contract decides, often 15–30 days. If it is silent, the landlord must return the deposit within one month of you handing back the keys.

What if a small-sum deposit is still not returned after a formal demand?

Try mediation or a documented negotiation first, since this is required before most civil claims. Then, for a documented debt up to 2,000 euros, you can use the proceso monitorio (order for payment) without a lawyer.