When your tenant stops paying or won't leave
You will know the order of steps, the time and the cost of getting rent paid or your home back, and which route applies to your tenant.
Only a court can remove a tenant who does not pay or will not leave. Which route applies depends on whether the rent stopped, the lease ended, nobody ever had a contract, or a holiday guest overstayed.
Pick the article that fits your situation
The first 30 days when your tenant stops paying
In the first month after the rent stops, tell your insurer, gather evidence and send a burofax demand before you go anywhere near a court.
Eviction for unpaid rent step by step (desahucio por impago)
Only a court can evict a tenant for unpaid rent. You run the case through a lawyer and a procurador, and the tenant has one chance to stop it by paying.
A tenant who stays after the lease ends, or lives in your home without a contract
How you remove the person depends on how they came to be there: an expired lease, no contract at all, or a break-in. Each has its own route.
Holiday or seasonal guests who overstay
A court removes most overstaying guests and seasonal tenants. The police act in narrow cases, and your contract type decides which claim you file.
About this topic
Key rules
- Demand first: For unpaid rent, a burofax demand (a formal post-office letter that proves what you sent and when it arrived) comes before any court step.
- Time: A court case takes 6 to 18 months or more from claim to the tenant leaving.
- Self-help: Never change the locks, cut supplies or enter the home yourself.
Which route applies to you
- The rent has stopped. Tell your rent-guarantee insurer, gather evidence and send the burofax demand: The first 30 days when your tenant stops paying.
- The demand went unpaid. The tenant can stop the case once by paying; individuals pay no court fee: Eviction for unpaid rent step by step (desahucio por impago).
- The lease ended and the tenant stayed, or the occupant never had a contract. You give notice or file a precario claim, the claim against someone living in your home with no right to be there: A tenant who stays after the lease ends, or lives in your home without a contract.
- A holiday or seasonal guest will not leave. The contract type decides between the police and a court: Holiday or seasonal guests who overstay.
- Someone broke into the home. That is squatting: Squatter, tenant or guest.
From abroad, a lawyer and a procurador in Spain act for you under a power of attorney, and you can send the burofax online through Correos (the Spanish post office) or through a representative in Spain.
Explore places
Where you live changes the details. See how Spanish regions and cities compare on rent, jobs, weather, safety and healthcare.
What to read next
More in Buying property
Deciding whether to buy
You will know if buying is right for you, what a foreign buyer needs before starting, and which regional rules to look up.
The buying process and agents
You will understand each step, who you deal with, and how to avoid common traps in searching and offering.
Legal checks before you sign
You will know which checks to run, what documents show and how to react to a problem.
Also in Housing and where to live
Need certainty before you act?
For important relocation decisions, speak with a qualified human specialist.
Always verify important information with the relevant official authority or a qualified adviser before acting. This website uses large language models together with various public data sources, official government documents and other established sources. Due to the amount of data on this website, some information might be wrong. Information may also be incomplete or outdated.