When your landlord can legally end your tenancy

Key rules

• Court order: Only a court order can make you leave if you refuse, and a court officer carries it out.
• Lockouts: Changing locks, removing your belongings or cutting utilities is unlawful, whatever the landlord says.
• Own-use clause: A landlord can reclaim the home for own or family use only if your contract expressly says so.
• Notice at term end: Your landlord must give 4 months' notice that the lease will not be renewed.

The short answer

Your landlord cannot simply tell you to leave. They need a legal ground, and if you do not go, they need a court order. Changing the locks, removing your belongings or cutting your water, electricity or gas is unlawful. A verbal or written demand to leave does not end your lease.

The process your landlord must follow

If you stay and the landlord has a ground, they must start a court case called a desahucio. Only after the court rules can a court officer carry out the eviction. Nobody else can do it for them.

Households in a vulnerable situation get extra protection. This can include a social-services report and a possible suspension of the eviction. These rules have been extended several times and change over time, so ask your town hall's social services what applies now.

A lockout or utility cut can lead to damages claims and criminal liability for the landlord.

Valid grounds

1. You break the contract

A landlord can end the lease if you:

• do not pay rent or other sums you owe
• do not pay a top-up to the fianza when one is due
• sublet or hand over the home without consent
• deliberately damage the home or do works that are not allowed
• carry out activities that are a nuisance, unhealthy, dangerous or illegal
• use the home for something other than your main residence, when that was the agreed use

Serious breach of the contract can also be a ground. If you do not leave, the landlord still has to go through the court.

2. The landlord needs the home for themselves or family

This is allowed only if your contract has an express clause saying so. Without that clause, the landlord cannot end the lease for own use during the term.

With the clause, the landlord can ask for the home back after the first year for themselves, for a first-degree relative, or for a spouse after a legal separation or divorce. They must give at least two months' notice and state the need.

If nobody moves in within three months, you choose: return to the home with your costs paid, or take compensation of up to one month's rent for each year you had left.

3. The lease reaches the end of its term

The minimum term is five years if your landlord is an individual and seven if it is a company. To stop the lease renewing, the landlord must tell you 4 months before it ends. If you do not want to continue, you must give 2 months' notice.

If nobody gives notice in time, the lease renews automatically year by year for up to three more years. Those three one-year renewals are the whole extension, so after them the lease ends.

4. The landlord sells the home

A sale does not automatically end your lease.

• Your lease is registered: the buyer must respect it for the full term.
• Your lease is not registered: a buyer who acquires in good faith is not bound, but you can stay until the end of the first five years (seven if the landlord is a company).

Either way, you can ask the previous landlord for any rent paid in advance and for compensation.

What to do if you are told to leave

Ask the landlord to name the legal ground in writing. If it is not one of the above, you can stay. The checklist and warnings below cover what to do about lockouts and cuts.

If you are moving with children or are in a vulnerable situation, a separate page may apply to you.

Choosing between options

Which rule applies to what your landlord is planning?

• Landlord wants to move in or house a relative: Only valid if your contract has an express clause allowing it, and only after the first year. It covers the landlord, their first-degree relatives, or a spouse in a legal separation or divorce.

• Landlord is selling and your lease is registered: Your lease is registered in the Property Registry. A sale does not end it, and the buyer must respect it for the full term.

• Landlord is selling and your lease is not registered: A buyer acting in good faith is not bound by the lease.

A sale never ends your lease automatically, and own use needs the contract clause. Whether your lease is registered decides how long you can stay after a sale.

Timeline and deadlines

• Minimum term runs: five years if your landlord is an individual, seven if it is a company: from the start of the lease

• Earliest point your landlord can ask for the home back for own or family use, if your contract has the clause: after the first year

• Landlord sends notice stating the need to use the home: at least two months before you must leave

• If the landlord or relative has not moved in, you choose between returning (landlord pays your costs) or compensation: if the home is not occupied within three months

• Landlord tells you the lease will not be renewed: at least 4 months before the end of the term

• You tell the landlord if you do not want to continue: at least 2 months before the end of the term

• If nobody gives notice in time, the lease renews automatically year by year, for up to three more years: after the end of the term

• Those three one-year renewals are the whole extension; nothing renews automatically beyond them: after those three years

Checklist

• Stay put and keep your keys if your landlord demands you leave without a court order.

• Ask your landlord to name the legal ground for ending your tenancy.

• Report a lockout, removal of your belongings or a water, electricity or gas cut to the police.

• Bring any lockout or utility cut to a lawyer or tenant adviser to claim damages.

• Ask the Property Registry whether your lease is registered, if the home is being sold.

What to watch out for

• Lockouts and utility cuts are illegal: Changing your locks, removing your belongings or cutting water, electricity or gas without a court order is unlawful. It can bring civil damages and criminal charges for the landlord. Do not accept it. Contact the police and a lawyer straight away.

• An informal demand does not end your lease: Your landlord cannot end the lease by message or verbal demand. If you do not leave, they must bring the case to court. Do not ignore any court papers you receive. Get legal advice quickly.

• Some actions give your landlord real grounds: A landlord can seek to end the lease for unpaid rent or other sums owed, an unpaid deposit top-up, or subletting without consent. Deliberate damage, works not allowed, nuisance, unhealthy, dangerous or illegal activity, or not using the home as your main residence (where that was agreed) also count. Pay on time, get written consent before subletting or doing works, and use the home as agreed.

Frequently asked questions

Does it matter that I am a foreigner?

No. The own-use rules protect tenants whatever their nationality. Your landlord needs the same contract clause, the same notice and the same timing as for any other tenant.

My home was sold and I had paid rent in advance. What now?

You can ask your previous landlord for the rent you paid in advance. You can also ask them for compensation if the new owner is not bound by your lease.

Who actually carries out an eviction?

A court officer does, and only after a judge has ordered it. Households in a vulnerable situation have extra safeguards, including a social-services report and a possible suspension.