Lawful requirement or discrimination when renting or buying services

Terms used

• Fianza — The fianza is the legal deposit, one month's rent for housing, held as security for the lease.
• Aval — An aval is a guarantee from a person or bank that they will pay if you do not.
• NIE — The NIE is the foreigner identification number issued by Spanish authorities.
• TIE — The TIE is the foreigner identity card issued to non-EU residents in Spain.

Key rules

• Solvency checks: Asking for proof of income is lawful, but no law requires you to give a guarantor or insurance.
• Indirect discrimination: A neutral rule is unlawful if it hits a protected group harder and has no proportionate, legitimate aim.
• Bank refusal: A bank can refuse a basic account only for stated reasons and must reply within 10 working days.
• Insurance: Nationality or ethnic origin alone cannot justify refusing or pricing a policy.

The short test

Solvency checks and legal limits are lawful. A requirement becomes discrimination when it targets a protected group, or when it looks neutral but disproportionately excludes that group. Protected grounds include nationality, ethnic origin, sex, age, illness and disability.

What is lawful

Checking you can pay. A landlord can ask for recent payslips, an employment contract, a tax return or bank statements. Some also ask for a guarantor (aval) or a rental insurance policy. The law does not require any of these. They are customary, and they must respect data protection and non-discrimination rules.

Extra security on a lease. On a main-residence lease, the fianza is one month's rent. For leases of up to five years (seven if the landlord is a company), the landlord may also agree an additional guarantee of up to two months' rent. Seasonal and other non-main-residence leases follow different rules. Your region may add limits.

Identity checks at a bank. Banks must identify you with a valid official document with a photo. That means a passport, an NIE certificate, a foreigner identity card (TIE), or an identity document from an EU country. Non-residents are often also asked for proof of address and where their money comes from. Banks may ask for extra documents about the purpose of the account. This is anti-money-laundering law, not bias.

Risk-based pricing by insurers. Insurers may use objective, proportionate risk factors. Age can count where actuarial data supports it, for example in life or health premiums. Which factors are allowed depends on the type of insurance.

What is discrimination

Direct. Nationality or ethnic origin alone is not a lawful reason to refuse or price an insurance policy. Insurers cannot use sex as a pricing factor. They cannot exclude you because of illness or disability unless objective data justifies it.

Indirect. A rule that applies to everyone can still discriminate. Ask three questions:

1. Does the rule apply to everyone on its face?
2. Does it hurt a protected group much more than others?
3. Can the other side show a legitimate aim, and means that are appropriate and necessary?

If the answer to 2 is yes and to 3 is no, it is indirect discrimination. A common example outside housing: a pay rule that penalises part-time workers can discriminate against women, because most part-timers are women.

Banks and the basic account

Anyone legally resident in the EU has the right to a basic payment account, including people with no fixed address and asylum seekers. The bank can refuse only for stated reasons, such as money-laundering risk. It must reply within 10 working days. A refusal with no reason is a warning sign. The steps are in the timeline below.

If you are refused

Ask for the reason in writing. For an insurer, you can complain to the insurer, then to the insurance regulator (Dirección General de Seguros), or go to court. For a bank, use its complaints service, then the courts.

A rule you simply dislike, such as a high income threshold that applies to everyone alike, is not discrimination unless it hits a protected group harder without a good reason. The decision below helps you sort your case.

Choosing between options

Is this requirement a lawful check or indirect discrimination?

• It is a lawful requirement: The rule has a legitimate aim, such as checking you can pay, and the means are appropriate and necessary for that aim.

• It is indirect discrimination: The rule looks neutral and applies to everyone, but it hits a protected group much harder, often shown by statistics, and the other side cannot justify it with a legitimate aim and proportionate means.

• It is only a rule you dislike: The rule affects everyone about equally and does not disadvantage a protected group in particular, so it is not discrimination.

Work through three steps. First, is the rule neutral and the same for everyone? Second, does it put a protected group at a clear disadvantage? Third, can the other side show a legitimate aim and proportionate means? Discrimination needs a yes to the second and a no to the third.

Timeline and deadlines

• Ask the bank for a basic payment account, with your passport, NIE certificate or TIE: when you apply

• Wait for the bank's answer. It can refuse only for stated reasons, such as money-laundering risk: within 10 working days of your request

• If you are refused, challenge the decision with the bank's complaints service and then the courts: after you receive the refusal

• Agree an additional guarantee with a landlord, up to two months' rent on top of the one-month fianza: when you sign a lease of up to five years (seven if the landlord is a company)

Documents you need

• Passport, or an identity document from an EU country, with a photo. A bank can lawfully ask for an official valid photo ID to identify you.

• Your NIE certificate or foreigner identity card (TIE), issued by the Spanish authorities. A bank accepts either as identification for a foreign customer.

• Proof of address and proof of where your money comes from. Banks often ask non-residents for these, and may also ask for documents about the purpose of the account.

• Recent payslips, an employment contract, a tax return or bank statements. Landlords commonly ask for these to check you can pay the rent. The law does not set them, and the request must respect data protection and non-discrimination rules.

• A guarantor (aval) or a rental insurance policy. A landlord may ask for one as a solvency check, but the law does not require it.

What to watch out for

• A bank refusal without a stated reason: A bank can refuse an account only for stated reasons such as money-laundering risk. A vague refusal for being foreign may be unlawful. Ask the bank to give its reason in writing, and remind it that anyone legally resident in the EU has the right to a basic payment account.

• Insurers pricing or refusing by nationality or sex: Nationality or ethnic origin alone is not a lawful basis to refuse or price a policy, and sex cannot be used for pricing. Age can be used only where actuarial data backs it, for example in life or health premiums. Ask the insurer which risk factor decided the price or the refusal.

• Exclusion because of illness or disability: An insurer cannot exclude you because of an illness or disability unless objective data justifies it. If you are refused, challenge it with the insurer, then the insurance supervisor (Dirección General de Seguros) or the courts.

Quick answers on job, rental and service discrimination

Can a landlord refuse to rent to me because I have children?

No, a landlord cannot lawfully refuse to rent to you only because you have children. Refusal is allowed on objective grounds such as solvency, guarantees or more occupants than the home can habitably hold. If you are refused because of your family, you can seek a civil remedy (the refusal can be declared void, with compensation) and the landlord can also be sanctioned.

Can a nightclub refuse me entry at the door?

Yes, a nightclub can refuse you entry, but only under written conditions posted publicly at the entrance and based on objective criteria. Valid criteria include dress code, age, capacity, intoxication or violent behaviour. It cannot refuse you because of race, origin, religion, sex or disability, and many regions fine arbitrary refusals. Ask for the complaint book, which venues must have in many regions.

Can a bank refuse to open an account because I am foreign?

No, a bank cannot refuse to open an account because of your nationality. If you are legally resident in the EU, you have a right to a basic payment account (cuenta de pago básica) with capped fees, even without a fixed address. A bank can still refuse if you fail its identity checks, already hold an account or if opening it would break the law. Complain first to the bank's customer service, then to the Banco de España claims service.