How much your landlord can raise the rent each year

Key rules

• Clause needed: Without an annual update clause in your contract, the landlord cannot raise the rent.
• Official index: Since 2025, annual updates follow the official rent update index, which replaced the previous inflation-based cap.
• No back payments: The new rent applies from the month after you receive the written notice, with nothing owed for earlier months.
• Signing date: The rules that cover your lease depend on when you signed the contract.

The short answer

Your landlord can raise the rent once a year, and only if your contract says so. The rise cannot be more than the official rent update index. Since 2025, that index has replaced the old inflation-based cap. This applies to main-residence leases, not commercial ones.

Does your contract allow an update?

Look for a clause that allows an annual update. Without an express clause, the landlord cannot raise the rent. If the clause only mentions the CPI or a similar index, it is read as an update limited by the official index.

The update comes once a year, on the anniversary of the contract. It is not a mid-lease increase. If your landlord demands a rise at another time, see the "What if" section below.

Which rules cover your lease?

It depends on when you signed.

• Before 6 March 2019: older rules apply. The update depends on what you agreed in the contract. Check the transitional provisions for your specific contract.
• From 6 March 2019 to 25 May 2023: the update follows the CPI (inflation) if your contract has an inflation clause. The temporary caps were 2% in 2022, 3% in 2023 and 3% in 2024.
• After 26 May 2023: the update is limited by the official rent update index, called the IRAV. From 2025, your yearly rise follows that index and can never be more than 3%.

The 3% cap was temporary and applied to 2024 only. It is not a permanent limit.

What is the current cap?

Your update cannot exceed the change in the IRAV over the latest 12-month period available when the rent is updated. The national statistics office publishes the index. Look up the latest published figure before you accept any percentage. The figure for the current period is not given here, so check it on the statistics office website or ask your town hall's consumer office. The calculator below can help you work out the maximum.

How the landlord must tell you

The notice must be in writing. It must state the percentage and the new rent. It should include the calculation. Landlords often send it by burofax, which proves delivery. Keep it with your contract.

You pay the new rent from the month after you receive the notice. You do not have to pay anything retroactive for earlier months. If the landlord forgot to update in a past year, you do not owe the difference.

What to do if the rise looks too high

1. Check the clause and your signing date.
2. Ask for the calculation if the notice has none.
3. Compare the percentage with the index.
4. Pay only the legal amount, and keep proof of what you paid.

The checklist and the decision guide below walk you through these steps.

Choosing between options

Which rules decide how much your rent can go up each year?

• Official rent update index: Your contract was signed after 26 May 2023 and has an update clause. From 2025, the increase follows the official index and can never be more than 3%.

• Inflation-based update with a temporary cap: Your contract was signed from 2019 to 25 May 2023 and has an update clause. A temporary cap applied to the increase in the years 2022 to 2024, so check which cap covered your update date.

• Older rules: Your contract was signed before 6 March 2019. Follow what the contract says and ask for advice on which rules cover it.

• No increase: Your contract has no update clause. The landlord cannot raise the rent during the contract.

First check for an update clause; without one, there is no increase. If there is one, your signing date decides which rules apply.

Checklist

• Check that your contract has a clause allowing an annual rent update. Without one, the landlord cannot raise the rent.

• Check your signing date to see which rules cover your lease: before 6 March 2019, from 2019 to 25 May 2023, or after 26 May 2023.

• Check that the notice is in writing and states the percentage and the new rent.

• Ask the landlord for the calculation behind the percentage if the notice does not include it.

• Compare the percentage in the notice with the official rent update index for the latest 12-month period, which the national statistics office publishes.

• Start paying the new rent from the month after you received the notice, and refuse any request for amounts from earlier months.

• Keep the notice and the proof of delivery with your contract.

What if your landlord demands a rent rise mid-lease?

Yes, you can refuse a rent rise demanded in the middle of the lease. A landlord can raise the rent only once a year, on the anniversary of the contract. That is only possible if your contract has an update clause, and the rise must stay within the legal cap. A demand for more rent at any other time is invalid, and you do not have to pay it.

Check these three things first

• Is it the anniversary? An increase outside that date needs your agreement. Without it, the rent stays as it is.
• Does your contract have an update clause? Without an express clause, the landlord cannot update the rent at all. If the clause only mentions CPI or a similar index in general terms, it is read as an update limited by the legal index.
• Does the contract allow other increases? Clauses that let the landlord raise the rent in other ways, on their own decision, are void. You can ignore them.

The risk of paying less

You are in the right if the increase is clearly invalid. But if you pay only the old rent, the landlord can say you have not paid in full. They can then start an eviction claim for non-payment. A court would decide whether the unpaid part was really owed. If you turn out to be wrong, you lose time and money.

How to protect yourself

1. Reply in writing. Say that you do not accept the increase and explain why (wrong date, no clause, or above the cap).
2. Keep paying the lawful rent on time. Pay by bank transfer and put a clear reference on it, such as the month and "rent under the current contract".
3. Keep every message and receipt. They are your proof if this goes to court.
4. If the landlord refuses to accept your payment, you can pay the money into court. This is called consignación, and it shows you are willing to pay.

Before you withhold any amount, talk to a lawyer or a tenant association. Your contract or your situation may differ from the usual case.

Calculate the maximum legal rent increase

Work it out

What you enter

• Your current monthly rent (EUR): Your contract or your latest bank transfer.
• Does your contract have a clause allowing a yearly update? (1 = yes, 0 = no) (1 or 0): Look for a rent update clause in your contract.
• Official rent update index for the latest 12 months, in percent (%): The national statistics office publishes the rent update index. Use the figure for the month your update falls in.

Worked example (with Your current monthly rent 800 EUR, Does your contract have a clause allowing a yearly update? (1 = yes, 0 = no) 1 1 or 0, Official rent update index for the latest 12 months, in percent 2.5 %)

When the sum misleads

• If your contract has no update clause, the result is zero: the landlord cannot raise the rent.
• If your area has extra rent limits, those may be lower than this result. Check with your town hall or regional housing office.
• If the landlord asks for more than this result, pay the lawful amount and reply in writing.

Frequently asked questions

My contract says nothing about updating the rent. Can my landlord still raise it?

No, an annual update is only allowed if your contract includes it. Without a clause, the rent stays the same during the contract.

My landlord forgot to update the rent last year. Can they ask for the difference now?

No, the new rent applies from the month after you receive the notice, and you do not have to pay back amounts for earlier periods. Unclaimed updates are not due retroactively.

Which rules apply to my lease if I signed before 2023?

The rules follow your signing date. Leases signed before 6 March 2019 follow older rules. Leases from 2019 to 25 May 2023 follow the inflation-based update with a temporary cap.

How should the landlord send me the notice?

In writing, stating the percentage and the new rent, ideally with the calculation. Landlords often use a burofax because it proves delivery. Keep the notice, since the payment date starts from the month after you receive it.