Bank guarantees (aval), guarantors and rent default insurance

Terms used

• aval — An aval is a bank guarantee that promises the landlord the bank will cover your rent if you do not pay.
• fiador — A fiador is a person who personally promises to pay your rent and damages if you cannot.

Key rules

• Aval for newcomers: Expect a bank to ask you to block the full guaranteed amount, if it issues an aval at all.
• Insurance screening: The insurer approves you before the policy exists, and a missing Spanish payroll is the usual reason for refusal.

As a newcomer, a bank aval and default insurance are both hard to get. A personal guarantor or a larger deposit is often the more realistic route. Which one fits depends on your income and how long you have lived in Spain.

Bank aval

An aval is a promise from your bank to pay the landlord, up to a set amount, if you stop paying rent or damage the flat. It is usually payable on the landlord's first demand. The amount is set by the bank and agreed with the landlord, and it counts toward the cap below.

How you get one:

• You ask your bank. It assesses your finances and may charge a fee.
• It may ask you to block money in a deposit as collateral.
• It issues a signed document naming the landlord. The bank releases it when the lease ends or the term written in it expires.

For a newcomer, this is the hardest option. Banks rarely issue rental avales to people with no Spanish account history. Those that do usually want the full guaranteed amount blocked in an account at that bank. Some also ask for a Spanish account, a NIE and proof of income. Without collateral, expect a refusal. Terms, amount and duration are set by each bank and agreed with the landlord.

Personal guarantor (fiador)

A fiador is a person who promises to cover your rent if you cannot. Landlords commonly accept one, usually a relative with a stable income. Many prefer a guarantor who owns property in Spain, because that person is easier to pursue for payment.

A guarantor living abroad is often refused or viewed with suspicion, because collecting from them is harder. Some landlords accept one only with a notarised guarantee, proof of income and assets, or a higher deposit. The guarantee should be signed with the lease or alongside it.

Rent default insurance

A seguro de impago pays the landlord if you do not pay. It usually covers unpaid rent for 6 to 12 months, or up to a monthly cap. It often includes legal defence and eviction costs, and sometimes damage and unpaid utilities. It does not cover tenants who were not approved, rent unpaid from before the policy, or disputes with the landlord.

The landlord normally pays, though some pass the cost on to the tenant.

The insurer screens you first. Most want a Spanish payroll or contract and rent of no more than 30-35% of your net income. Without Spanish payroll, you often fail screening. Ask before you apply, because insurers vary widely.

What a landlord can ask for

A landlord can ask for an extra guarantee on top of the fianza: a deposit, an aval or another form. The cap below applies to leases that are your habitual home, not tourist or seasonal lets.

If you have none of these

Offer a larger deposit within the legal cap, or look for a smaller rent while you build a Spanish record.

Guarantee routes compared

Start with a guarantor if a relative in Spain can sign. Without one, an extra deposit within the cap is the simplest route for a newcomer; insurance or an aval fit only if you already hold a Spanish account and Spanish income evidence.

If you are an employer-sponsored transfer

Your employer can back your application, so you do not need to rely on foreign remote income alone.

• Landlords accept an employer letter together with your assignment contract and salary as proof of income.
• Some landlords accept a company guarantee on a signed company letter.

The cap, the risks and the cheapest route

On habitual-residence leases (the standard first 5 years, or 7 if the landlord is a company), the landlord can require the one-month fianza plus extra guarantees worth at most two months' rent. That cap on extra security covers an extra deposit, an aval or any other added guarantee. You may choose to offer more prepaid rent to win a flat, but the landlord cannot demand it as a guarantee. A landlord who asks for more than the cap is asking for too much. Check the contract for the exact amount before you sign.

Every route also needs the one-month fianza and the first month's rent at signing.

Risk for you

• Extra deposit: The risk is getting the money back. Ask for a written receipt and for the contract to say when and how it is refunded.
• Prepaying several months of rent: This is your own offer, outside the cap, and it is riskier than an extra deposit. Private owners often accept it, but it is weakly protected if the relationship goes wrong. Keep a receipt and written refund terms, and avoid long prepayments.
• Fiador: There is no cost to you, but your guarantor is legally on the hook for your rent.
• Aval: The strongest offer a landlord sees, but hard to get as a newcomer, because the bank blocks the money and usually wants an account history. Recommend it to newcomers who already hold the funds in a Spanish bank; your cash earns little or nothing while it is blocked.
• Seguro de impago: Landlords like it because it moves their risk to the insurer. Your income checks decide whether you get it.

Aval, guarantor, default insurance and extra deposit compared

Which extra guarantee should you offer the landlord?

Which guarantee to offer when foreign income evidence is refused

If a landlord refuses foreign income evidence, a paid guarantor service is one more option; prepaid rent is your own offer, outside the cap.

Documents you need

• Signed bank guarantee (aval) naming the landlord, issued by your bank

• NIE (foreigner ID number), which some banks ask for before issuing an aval

• Proof of income, which some banks ask for with an aval and insurers ask for when screening you

• Foreign employment contract, remote work contract or pension proof, accepted by some insurers if you have no Spanish payroll

• Tax returns, which insurers may ask for if you are self-employed

• Notarised guarantee from a guarantor, with proof of their income and assets, which some landlords want from a guarantor living abroad