Qualifying as a newcomer tenant

Renting with no Spanish job, credit history or track record is the page to read first: it covers the proof and the guarantee a newcomer offers. If you are still abroad, Renting before you have an NIE or a Spanish bank account sets out the order of steps.

Key rules

• Extra guarantee cap: On habitual-residence leases (the standard first 5 years, or 7 years if the landlord is a company), any additional guarantee beyond the one-month deposit is capped at two months' rent.
• Fianza: The legal deposit for a habitual-residence lease is one month's rent.
• Agency fees: Since May 2023, agency and contract-formalisation fees on habitual-residence leases are paid by the landlord, and the tenant cannot be charged them.

From first search to a complete tenant file

• Gather your tenant file and check which ID and income papers you hold (Documents Spanish landlords ask newcomer tenants for): 6 to 8 weeks before the move or first application, and 8 to 12 weeks before if you need apostilles, foreign tax records or a bank aval
• Gather income evidence that matches your type of work (How your income evidence changes by type of work): early in the pack stage, with 3 to 6 months of bank statements ready
• Plan for having no Spanish job or credit history, and choose a guarantee you can realistically get (Renting with no Spanish job, credit history or track record, Bank guarantees (aval), guarantors and rent default insurance): before you start applying
• Check how much a landlord can ask upfront: one month's rent as deposit and at most two months' extra guarantee on a habitual-residence lease (How many months of rent a landlord can demand upfront): before you agree any payment
• Search and view homes, sign the lease with your passport or ID, then arrive, register on the padrón, get your NIE or TIE and open a Spanish bank account (Renting before you have an NIE or a Spanish bank account): in that order; a lease needs no NIE and no Spanish bank account. Payments from abroad and the video-call rule are in searching from abroad
• If a landlord demands more than the legal limit, refuse the excess or ask for it back in writing: as soon as you see the demand, and keep receipts and messages

Documents you may need

Identity and residence

• Passport or national ID — to sign the lease: Documents Spanish landlords ask newcomer tenants for
• NIE, TIE or EU registration certificate — after you arrive, not needed to sign: Renting before you have an NIE or a Spanish bank account

Income and work

• Payslips, employment contract and employer letter; for the self-employed the latest tax return, quarterly filings and autónomo registration; for company founders the company registry extract and latest accounts; bank statements for 3 to 6 months — How your income evidence changes by type of work
• Pension certificate or foreign pension award letter — Renting long term as a retiree or older newcomer

Guarantee and the home

• Bank aval, guarantor's papers or a default-insurance policy — Bank guarantees (aval), guarantors and rent default insurance
• Nota simple, to check the owner — searching from abroad
• Proof that your deposit was lodged with the regional body — How many months of rent a landlord can demand upfront

If this is you

• Employer-sponsored transferee: an employer letter with your assignment contract and salary counts as proof of income, and some landlords accept a company guarantee on a signed company letter. See Bank guarantees (aval), guarantors and rent default insurance.
• Partners renting together, married or not: each adult gives ID and income proof, combined income counts toward the three-times-rent test, and both sign and are jointly liable for the rent. Unmarried partners are treated the same way. See Documents Spanish landlords ask newcomer tenants for.
• Already living in Spain: a lease needs no NIE, so show your NIE or TIE if you hold one, pay from your Spanish account, and skip the NIE steps in Renting before you have an NIE or a Spanish bank account. With a Spanish payslip your payroll is your proof: Renting with no Spanish job, credit history or track record.