When your landlord offers a new contract instead of a renewal

Key rules

• New lease: A new contract starts a fresh minimum term, while a renewal only extends the old lease year by year.
• Renewal: A renewal keeps your current rent and terms, apart from the yearly update.
• Refusing: If nobody gave timely notice, you can refuse a new contract and stay on your existing lease.
• Stressed zones: Where your area is a declared stressed zone, the rent in a new contract is capped.

A new contract is not a neutral choice

If your landlord offers a new contract instead of a renewal, you are being asked to start a new lease. You are not extending the old one. That can change your term and your rent, so do not sign just because it is easier for the landlord.

This applies to main-residence leases. It does not apply to tourist or seasonal lets.

What a renewal does

When your lease reaches its minimum term, it renews automatically. The minimum term is 5 years, or 7 if the landlord is a company. The lease then extends year by year for up to 3 more years.

Automatic renewal happens unless someone gives notice. The landlord must give 4 months' notice. If you do not want your lease to continue, you must tell your landlord at least 2 months before the end of the term or of any yearly renewal. The 30-day notice is only for leaving early, after the first 6 months. Before the notice dates, you can stay on the existing lease.

A renewal is the same contract. Your rent and other terms carry on unchanged. The only changes are the yearly update the law allows and any changes you both lawfully agree.

What a new contract changes

The term restarts. A new contract is a new lease with its own minimum term of 5 years, or 7 if the landlord is a company. That is longer than the yearly extensions of a renewal. It can suit you if you want long-term security. It can also tie you in longer than you want.

The rent can be reset. Outside stressed zones, you and the landlord can agree any rent in a new contract. A renewal keeps your current rent, apart from the yearly update. So a new contract is a chance for the landlord to ask for more.

Stressed zones are different. In a stressed zone (zona tensionada), a new contract is limited. The rent cannot exceed the previous contract's rent updated by the cap. Landlords with large holdings must apply the official price index. Other landlords must follow the index system. These limits apply only where the regional government has declared the zone, as in Catalonia and some other places. Ask your town hall or regional housing office whether your area is declared.

You can usually say no

If nobody gave timely notice, you can refuse the new contract and stay under the automatic extension on the same terms. Do not sign a new text if you want to keep your old terms.

Living on without signing anything new is a continuation of the old lease. It counts as a renewal.

Before you sign

• Compare the new rent with your current rent plus the yearly update.
• Check the new minimum term and any early-exit terms.
• Read whether the document calls itself a new lease or a continuation of the old one. Its wording can decide which it is.
• If you are in a stressed zone, check the rent against the cap before you agree.

The decision, timeline and FAQ below walk through the choice and the notice dates.

Choosing between options

Should you sign the new contract or stay on the existing lease?

• Stay on the existing lease: Fits if no timely notice was given and you want the same rent and terms. The lease extends year by year for up to 3 further years, with only the annual update.

• Sign the new contract: Fits if you want a fresh minimum term of 5 years (7 if the landlord is a company) and accept the rent in the new text. Outside stressed zones that rent can be higher.

• Sign the new contract in a stressed zone: Fits if your area is a declared stressed zone: the new rent cannot exceed the previous rent updated by the allowed limit, and large-holder landlords must follow the price index.

A new contract is a new lease with its own minimum term and free rent outside stressed zones, while staying put keeps the same contract and rent terms. Compare the rent and term in the new text with your current ones before you sign.

Timeline and deadlines

• Landlord tells you they will not renew the lease: at least 4 months before the contract ends

• Tell the landlord in writing that you do not want to continue: at least 2 months before the end of the contract or any annual renewal period

• If nobody gives notice, the lease extends automatically on the same terms: year by year, for up to 3 further years after the minimum term

Frequently asked questions

Can I refuse a new contract and stay on my old one?

Yes, if nobody gave timely notice. Your old lease then extends automatically year by year, with the same rent and terms apart from the annual update.

Can my landlord ask for a higher rent in a new contract?

Outside declared stressed zones (zonas tensionadas), rent in a new contract is free to agree, so a higher figure is allowed.

What if I just keep living there and sign nothing new?

That is a renewal of the same contract, not a new lease. Your rent and terms continue, with only the annual update and any lawful agreed changes.

Is a new contract really a new lease?

Usually yes. Courts treat it as a new agreement with its own minimum term, but the wording of what you sign can matter, so read it before signing.