Eviction for unpaid rent step by step (desahucio por impago)

Key rules

• Tenant's chance to pay: A tenant can stop the case once by paying everything owed plus costs within 10 working days of being served.
• Burofax demand: Demand payment by burofax at least one month before filing, and a tenant who does not pay loses the right to stop the case by paying.
• Professionals: Hire both a lawyer and a procurador from the start.
• Time: Plan for 6 to 18 months or more from claim to the tenant leaving.
• Vulnerability stay: A judge can pause the eviction for a vulnerable tenant, and you may then claim compensation from the administration.

Step by step

1. Try a settlement first. Since 3 April 2025 (Ley Orgánica 1/2025), most civil claims, including eviction for unpaid rent, need an out-of-court settlement attempt (MASC) before filing. Your lawyer handles it and it adds time.
2. File the claim. Your lawyer files it with the court after your burofax demand, which the first 30 days explain, and attaches the lease, your statement of rent due and, if you live abroad, the signed power of attorney.
3. The court serves the tenant. The tenant receives the claim and a deadline to react.
4. The tenant has three choices. They can pay, oppose the claim, or leave. If the tenant does nothing, the court ends the case and sets the lanzamiento.
5. If the tenant opposes, the court holds a hearing and issues a sentence. The tenant can appeal, which adds time, but for unpaid rent an appeal does not stop the eviction from going ahead.
6. The lanzamiento. The court tells the tenant the date and time of the eviction with at least one month's notice. A court officer attends with a locksmith and, if needed, police. You change the lock and take possession. If the tenant did not oppose, the lanzamiento is set 1 to 3 months after they were served.

What happens if the tenant pays

The payment must cover everything due on the day they pay, not only what you first claimed, plus costs. The court then closes the case. If you claimed the rent in the same case, the payment must include it.

Claiming the unpaid rent too

You can claim the unpaid rent in the same case as the eviction, as long as you state the amount. If the tenant does not respond, the debt can then be enforced.

Lawyer and procurador

A procurador represents you before the court. If you live abroad, give your procurador a power of attorney for lawsuits (poder para pleitos); a general power also works. You can sign it before a Spanish notary, or at the court itself in person or electronically. The rules for signing in another country are in signing a power of attorney for Spain from abroad. You attend only if called as a witness.

Large holders

If you own more than 10 urban homes, more than 1,500 m² of housing, or 5 homes in an area declared a stressed housing market, you have extra duties before filing. You must say in the claim whether the tenant is vulnerable, attach the social services report, and show you tried mediation or that the tenant refused. Without this the court does not admit the claim.

The vulnerability stay

A tenant in economic vulnerability can ask the judge to pause the eviction, with a social services report. The judge sets how long the pause lasts, and it can add months. The scheme has been renewed year by year, so your lawyer checks at filing whether it is in force. If the eviction is paused, ask your lawyer whether you can claim compensation from the public administration with the court's suspension decision. Each region sets its own social services procedure and compensation amounts.

What it costs

• Lawyer: for an uncontested case, a flat fee of some hundreds to a couple of thousand euros. It is higher if the tenant opposes or appeals.
• Procurador: follows a state tariff of a few hundred euros.
• Court fees: not charged to individuals.
• Costs from the tenant: the losing side pays costs, so ask your lawyer to claim them.

How long it takes varies a lot from one court to another, so ask your lawyer for the current timing at the court that will hear your claim.