Renting long term as a retiree or older newcomer

Key rules

• Notice to end: After the minimum term, the landlord needs 4 months' notice and you need 2 months.
• Adaptations: Ask the landlord for written consent before adapting the home for a disability.

Show your pension income

Landlords want proof that you can pay the rent every month. As a retiree, your pension is your income, so prepare evidence of it before you start viewing flats. Bring:

• Spanish pension: a certificate of your pension amount from the Seguridad Social (INSS), downloaded from its online office with Cl@ve or a digital certificate, plus recent bank statements showing the monthly deposit.
• Foreign pension: an official award or confirmation letter from the body that pays it, such as a UK DWP or private pension provider letter, or a US Social Security benefit letter; bank statements for the last 3 to 6 months showing the payments; and your latest annual tax return or pension statement.
• Identity: passport, NIE or residence card.
• Extras: some landlords ask for proof of savings, a bank guarantee (aval) or a larger deposit. The options are compared in Bank guarantees (aval), guarantors and rent default insurance.

Foreign documents may need a sworn translation if the landlord asks; the rules by issuing country are in Documents Spanish landlords ask newcomer tenants for. The landlord may ask for up to 2 months' extra guarantee beyond the one-month deposit; agree this before you sign. Other income types are in How your income evidence changes by type of work.

Check access before anything else

Choose the building first and the decoration second. Decide before you search which features you cannot do without: could you manage stairs every day if your health got worse, do you use or expect to use a walker or wheelchair, and would a carer or family member need to reach you easily? Whatever you answer yes to is a must-have. Old buildings often have no lift, and older buildings are often exempt from modern accessibility standards, so check each flat in person rather than trusting a listing. Look for:

• A ground-floor home, or a lift (ascensor) that takes a wheelchair or walker. The usual guideline is a cabin of 1.00 x 1.25 m with a door of 80 cm. A working lift with wide enough doors matters more than the floor number.
• A step-free route from the street to the lift and your front door.
• A lower floor, if the building has no lift.
• Doors of 80 cm or wider.
• A walk-in or level shower, with space to turn (1.5 m) and room for grab bars.
• A bathroom on the same floor as the bedroom.
• If you need ongoing care, the distance to the centro de salud, the pharmacy and the hospital.

Adapting the flat

If you have a disability, you can ask the landlord for consent to adapt the home, for example with grab bars or a level shower. Get the consent in writing. You may have to put the home back as it was when you leave, if the landlord asks.

In a building with a community of owners, the community must pay for accessibility works when a disabled person or someone over 70 asks, within limits. Ask the landlord or the community administrator how that would work in your building.

Choose a lease that gives you stability

Most housing leases protect you well. If the contract is shorter than 5 years (7 if the landlord is a company), it extends automatically year by year up to that minimum. A short first contract therefore does not force you out. If you need ongoing care, a short first term that renews automatically, for example 1 year, with a clear exit clause is the safest bridge; being over 70 or having a disability gives you no extra right to a longer lease, so get the flexibility written into the contract. A longer term, up to 5 years, gives more security if you are settled and your care is stable, at the cost of flexibility.

After the minimum term, the lease can continue for up to 3 more years unless someone gives notice. The landlord must give 4 months' notice. You must give 2 months' notice if you do not want it to continue.

Leaving if your needs change

You can leave after the first 6 months by giving 30 days' written notice (desistimiento). Before you sign, read the contract for an indemnity clause (an exit payment). It applies only if it is written in. It can be one month's rent for each year remaining, in proportion for part years. If your needs may change soon, ask for it to be removed.

These rules cover ordinary housing leases, not seasonal or tourist lets, and are the same whatever your nationality.

If you need care at home

Register at your address (empadronamiento) and ask your town hall about its servicio de ayuda a domicilio. Registration is needed for local public health and social care.

If the tenant dies

If the tenant dies, the following people can take over the lease:

• A married spouse who lived in the home. Proof: the marriage certificate.
• A partner in a registered partnership who lived with the tenant can ask to take over the lease. Proof: the certificate of registration and proof of living together.
• An unregistered partner who lived with the tenant, only by proving a durable relationship, for example two years of living together before the death or a child in common.
• A dependant, such as a child or a dependent parent. Proof: proof of dependence on the tenant.

To take over, notify the landlord in writing within 3 months of the death, with the death certificate and proof of your relationship. If you are late, the right to take over the lease is lost.

Timeline and deadlines

• Read the contract for an exit indemnity clause: before you sign

• Landlord gives notice to end the lease after the minimum term: at least 4 months before the end

• You give notice if you do not want the lease to continue: at least 2 months before the end

• Notify the landlord if you want to take over the lease after the tenant's death: within 3 months of the death

Checklist

• Check that the building has a lift and that its doors are wide enough for you, rather than relying on the floor level.
• Download your pension certificate and gather recent bank statements to show your pension income.