What to do when your landlord keeps your deposit

Terms used

• Fianza — The fianza is the deposit, one month's rent for housing, held as security for the lease.
• Burofax — A burofax is a Correos service that proves the content of your letter and that the recipient received it.
• Monitorio — The monitorio is a fast court procedure for collecting a documented money debt.
• Abogado — An abogado is a lawyer.
• Procurador — A procurador is a court representative who files and follows your case, required alongside a lawyer in larger claims.
• OMIC — The OMIC is your town's municipal consumer information office.

Key rules

• Settlement attempt: Since 2025, you must try mediation or direct negotiation before most civil court cases.
• Regional complaint: A complaint to a regional body does not order repayment; only a court can.
• Time limit: You generally have five years from when the deposit should have been returned.
• Proof: Keep your burofax, key return proof and deposit receipt, as they are your evidence at every step.

The short route

Escalate in this order: a written demand, a complaint to your regional body, mediation or direct negotiation, then a court claim. Only a court can force your landlord to pay. The earlier steps build your evidence and often make the landlord pay without a trial.

Step 1: Send a formal demand

Send a burofax with certified text and acknowledgment of receipt through Correos. It proves what you wrote and that the landlord received it. A certified email service from a qualified provider also works and is generally accepted as evidence.

Your letter should include:

• the names of both parties, the lease and the property address;
• the date you returned the keys;
• the amount of the fianza and the bank account for repayment;
• a deadline to pay, such as 10 days;
• the legal limit: the landlord has one month from key return to give the deposit back, and after that it earns legal interest;
• a statement that you will go to court if they do not pay.

Keep the receipts and copies. The template letter below gives you wording to start from.

Step 2: Complain to your regional body

Landlords must lodge the fianza with a regional body, but not every region requires it. Where it applies, the body might be a housing agency such as INCASÒL in Catalonia. Elsewhere it is the regional housing department. Check your region's housing department website, or the official gazette of your region, for the rules.

You can file a written complaint with the regional consumer office, your town's OMIC, or the body holding the fianza. Do it online, at a registry office or in person. Attach your lease, proof you paid the deposit, proof you moved out and returned the keys, your letters to the landlord and your ID.

This complaint is administrative. It can prompt the landlord to respond, or lead to a sanction if they failed to lodge the fianza. It does not order repayment. Where a deposit is lodged, the landlord normally reclaims it from the body at the end of the lease. You can usually claim it yourself only if the landlord does not, with proof the lease ended and your deposit receipt.

Step 3: Try to settle first

Since 2025, you must attempt a negotiated settlement, including mediation or direct negotiation, before pursuing most civil court cases. Keep proof of the attempt, because a court can refuse your claim without it. Your burofax and the landlord's reply, or silence, can be part of that proof.

Mediation is voluntary. Options include your town's OMIC, regional consumer bodies, some regional housing mediation services, bar associations and private mediators. Public services are generally free or low cost, though this varies by region. An agreement you sign is binding as a contract.

The consumer arbitration board is free, but it generally does not cover disputes between a private landlord and a tenant, and both sides must accept it.

Step 4: Go to court

How you file depends on the amount.

Monitorio claim. This is a fast route for a money debt backed by documents. Your lease, deposit receipt and emails count. There is no minimum or maximum amount. You file a standard petition at the court of first instance where the landlord lives. You need the landlord's address so the court can notify them.

• The court orders the landlord to pay or respond within 20 working days.
• If they pay, it ends.
• If they ignore it, you can ask the court to enforce payment.
• If they object, the case becomes a full civil claim.

Lawyer and procurador. For claims up to €2,000 you need neither an abogado nor a procurador. Above €2,000 you need both in a full civil claim. For a monitorio, no lawyer is needed up to about that same level. Check the current thresholds, as 2025 reforms changed some procedure rules. A winner can recover costs only within limits.

Full civil claim. Claims up to €6,000 follow the shorter juicio verbal. Above €6,000 they follow the juicio ordinario.

How long you have

The general limit is five years from the date the deposit should have been returned, usually one month after you handed back the keys. Do not wait. Evidence is easier to gather soon after you move out, and the start date can be debated.

The decision, process, documents and checklist below help you choose a route and prepare.

Choosing between options

Which route should you take once the landlord ignores your demand?

• Mediation: Choose it if you want a quick, low-cost deal and the landlord will talk.

• Monitorio claim: Choose it if you have documents proving the debt and know the landlord's address. The court orders them to pay or respond within 20 working days, and ignoring it lets you request enforcement.

• Full civil claim: Choose it if the landlord opposes the monitorio or disputes the amount.

Once your settlement attempt has failed and you hold documents, file a monitorio. If the landlord opposes, the case moves on to a full claim.

Steps to recover a withheld deposit

• Send a formal demand by burofax with certified text and acknowledgment of receipt, or by certified email: As soon as one month has passed since you handed back the keys. Give the landlord a stated period to pay, such as 10 days. Keep the receipts and copies.

• File a complaint with your regional consumer office or the regional body that holds deposits: If the landlord does not pay by the date in your demand. It can lead to a sanction for not lodging the fianza, but it does not order repayment. Only a court can do that.

• Try mediation or direct negotiation: Before going to court. Since 2025 you must attempt a negotiated settlement before most civil cases. Municipal consumer offices and regional housing services are generally free or low cost.

• File a monitorio claim at the court where the landlord lives: If mediation fails and you have documents such as the lease and deposit receipt. A lawyer is generally not needed up to €2,000. The landlord has 20 working days to pay or object. If they ignore it, you can ask for enforcement.

• Go to a civil claim if the landlord objects: After the objection. The claim then continues as a full civil case, and the amount decides which type it is. Up to €2,000 you need no lawyer in a juicio verbal. Above €2,000 you need a lawyer and a procurador.

• Know the costs: Before filing. As an individual you pay no court fees in the first instance. The loser may have to pay the other side's costs, up to set limits. Free legal aid is available if your income is under the threshold.

• Start before the time limit runs out: Within five years of the date the deposit should have been returned. Acting much sooner is safer.

Documents you need

• Your lease contract, as signed by you and the landlord.

• The deposit receipt or proof that you paid the deposit.

• Proof that you moved out and returned the keys, which also starts the one-month return period.

• The burofax with certified text and acknowledgment of receipt (or certified email) that you sent to the landlord, with its receipts and copies.

• Emails and other correspondence with the landlord about the deposit.

• Your ID, for a complaint to the regional body or consumer office.

Checklist

• Find your region's housing department website and read its rules on deposits.

• Find out which regional body holds the lodged deposit, if your region requires lodging.

• Attach your lease, deposit payment proof, key return proof and your letters to the landlord.

• Check the amount of your claim to see whether you need an abogado and a procurador.

• Confirm the landlord's address, so the court can serve the order on them.

• File the monitorio petition at the court where the landlord lives, with your documents.

Template letter demanding your deposit back

Fill in the blanks in square brackets, date the letter and sign it. The letter cites the one-month deadline and legal interest, asks for your money back and is the first formal step in recovering your deposit. Send it in a way that proves when it was delivered, and keep a copy.

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[Your full name] [Your current address] [Your email and phone number]

[Landlord's full name] [Landlord's address]

[City], [date of the letter]

Subject: Demand for return of the deposit (fianza) for the property at [address of the rented property]

Dear [landlord's name],

I rented the property at [address] from you under a lease that began on [start date]. On [date] I handed back the keys, and the lease ended. When I signed, I paid a deposit (fianza) of €[amount].

You were required to return the deposit within one month of the day I handed back the keys. That month ended on [date one month after key handover]. I have not received the deposit [or: I have received only €[amount], without a written explanation of the rest].

I therefore ask you to pay me €[amount] by bank transfer to the account below, within [number] days of receiving this letter:

[IBAN and account holder name]

Because the deposit was not returned within one month, it also earns legal interest from the end of that month until the day it is repaid. I ask you to include that interest in the payment.

If I do not receive the payment within that time, I will take the formal steps available to me to recover the deposit and the interest.

I attach copies of the lease, the proof that I paid the deposit and the proof that I returned the keys [delete any you do not have].

Yours sincerely,

[Signature] [Your full name]

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Before you send it

• Check the dates. The one month starts on the day you handed back the keys, not the day the lease ended.
• Leave the interest rate out. The legal rate is set each year, so the letter asks for "legal interest" without a figure. Check the current rate with your town hall's consumer office if you want to calculate the amount.
• Attach proof. Copies of the lease, the deposit payment and the key handover are enough. Keep the originals.
• Keep the proof of delivery. It shows the date the landlord received your demand.

Frequently asked questions

Can the regional body make my landlord pay me back?

No. A complaint to the regional consumer or housing body is administrative. It can prompt a response from the landlord or a penalty if the deposit was never lodged, but only a court can order repayment.

Can I use the consumer arbitration board for a private landlord?

Usually not. The Junta Arbitral de Consumo generally does not cover lease disputes with a private landlord, because the landlord is not a trader. It also needs both sides to accept.

Do I need a lawyer to claim my deposit?

Not for claims up to €2,000. Above €2,000 you need both an abogado and a procurador. Claims up to €6,000 follow the juicio verbal, and larger ones the juicio ordinario.

How long do I have to claim the deposit?

You generally have five years from when the deposit should have been returned. That is counted from the end of the one-month return period after you handed back the keys. Do not wait that long, though.

Where do I find the deposit rules for my region?

Start with your region's housing department website (consejería de vivienda). The regional official gazette and the national Punto de Acceso General also help, and your town hall may have extra rules.

What if the host keeps your bridge-stay deposit?

Work through these steps in order. Move to the next only when the one before has failed or been ignored.

1. Gather your proof. Keep the booking or contract, proof you paid the deposit, dated photos, meter readings and any handover record. If the host claims damage, the host has to prove the damage and its cost. Normal wear and tear cannot be deducted.
2. Send a written demand. Say what you are owed, why the claimed deductions are not justified, and give a short deadline. Send it in a way you can prove, such as burofax with certified content, or email if the host has been replying by email.
3. Use the second route that fits how you booked (see below).
4. Try low-cost mediation. Your town hall's consumer office (OMIC), your regional consumer body and some regional housing mediation services offer mediation. Public services are generally free or low cost. Mediation is voluntary, so the host must agree to take part.
5. Go to court. For a clear money debt backed by documents, use the proceso monitorio. There is no minimum or maximum amount. You file it at the court where the host lives, using a standard form. Below a threshold, generally €2,000 or less, you do not need a lawyer. The court orders the host to pay or answer within 20 working days.

If you booked through a platform: after your written demand, open a deposit or damage claim in the platform's resolution centre within the platform's time limit, and upload your proof. Do this before going outside the platform. Check the platform's terms for the deadline, as it can be short.

If you booked directly with the host: there is no platform to decide. Your route is the written demand, then mediation, then court. A room rental, seasonal or work-related stay is governed by what you agreed and general civil law, so your contract wording matters. Check it first.

Low-cost help that exists: OMIC consumer offices and regional consumer bodies can advise you and prompt a response, though they cannot force payment. Individuals pay no court fees in a first-instance claim. If your income is low, you may qualify for free legal aid (justicia gratuita). Ask your bar association. Be aware that if you lose a contested case, you may have to pay the other side's costs.

One check: confirm the host's address, because the court must be able to serve notice.