Spanish eviction notice: how eviction in Spain works

How eviction in Spain works

Eviction in Spain is a court procedure called desahucio, and only a judge can order it. A landlord cannot remove a tenant, change the locks or cut off utilities. The rules come from two laws: the Ley de Arrendamientos Urbanos (LAU, Ley 29/1994), which sets out when a lease can be ended, and the Ley de Enjuiciamiento Civil (LEC, Ley 1/2000), which sets out the court process. Both claims are heard as a juicio verbal, Spain's shorter civil procedure.

A private letter or burofax from a landlord is not an eviction notice in the legal sense. It's a demand, and it matters (see enervación below), but the notice that starts the clock is the one served by the court.

Desahucio por falta de pago (unpaid rent)

Non-payment of rent or other amounts the tenant owes under the lease is a ground to end the contract under LAU art. 27.2. It's by far the most common reason for evicting a tenant in Spain. The landlord's lawyer files a claim that can combine the eviction with a claim for the arrears.

Desahucio por expiración de plazo (lease has ended)

A residential lease in Spain runs for at least five years, or seven if the landlord is a company, through compulsory yearly renewals (LAU art. 9.1). After that it renews for up to three more years unless one side gives notice: the landlord at least four months before the end date, the tenant at least two (LAU art. 10.1). If the tenant stays after a valid end date, the landlord can sue for eviction on expiry. Ley 12/2023 added extraordinary extensions for vulnerable tenants and for homes in declared stressed-market areas (LAU art. 10.2 and 10.3), so check whether one applies before counting on an end date.

The eviction process in Spain, step by step

The eviction process in Spain has a fixed legal skeleton, even though the time each stage takes varies by court.

Before court: the prior negotiation requirement

Since 3 April 2025, Ley Orgánica 1/2025 (art. 5) makes a prior attempt at negotiation, called a MASC (medio adecuado de solución de controversias), a condition for most civil claims. Eviction claims are not on the list of exceptions. In practice this is often a reliable written offer or a mediation attempt, and the claim must show it happened.

The claim and what it must say

Under LEC art. 439.6, a claim to recover a home must state whether the property is the occupant's main home, and whether the landlord is a gran tenedor (large holder). Ley 12/2023 (art. 3.k) defines a large holder as someone owning more than 10 urban residential properties, or more than 1,500 m² of residential floor space (excluding garages and storerooms); a region can lower this to five or more homes inside a declared stressed-market area. A landlord who says they are not a large holder must attach a Land Registry certificate listing their properties. Unpaid-rent claims must also say whether the tenant can use enervación (LEC art. 439.3).

Ley 12/2023 originally also required large holders to go through a prior conciliation or intermediation procedure. The Constitutional Court struck that requirement down in judgment 26/2025 of 29 January 2025, so it no longer applies.

The requerimiento: the real eviction notice

Once the claim is admitted, the court serves the tenant with a requerimiento (LEC art. 438). The tenant has 10 days to leave, pay the landlord, pay into court to stop the eviction, or oppose. The same document gives the date of the hearing if the tenant opposes, and the exact date and time of the eviction if they don't. If the tenant does nothing, the court ends the case by decree and the eviction goes ahead on that date, with costs against the tenant.

Enervación: paying to stop the eviction

In an unpaid-rent case, the tenant can usually stop the eviction by paying everything claimed plus anything owed by the date of payment (LEC art. 22.4). This is called enervación. It isn't available if the tenant has used it before, or if the landlord demanded payment by a reliable means (such as burofax) at least 30 days before filing and the debt was still unpaid when the claim was filed. That's why a formal pre-claim demand matters.

Vulnerability checks

If the property is the tenant's main home, the court tells both the tenant and the regional and local social services about the case (LEC art. 441.5). If social services confirm the household is vulnerable, the court can suspend the proceedings for up to two months where the landlord is an individual, or four months where it is a company, so that housing or support measures can be put in place. Separate temporary measures that let courts suspend evictions of vulnerable households have been extended several times since 2020; ask a lawyer whether any are in force on the date of your case.

How long does an eviction take?

There's no official national timeframe for an eviction in Spain. The statutory deadlines are short (10 days for the requerimiento, a hearing within a month of being called), but real cases depend on how quickly the tenant can be served, whether they oppose or ask for legal aid, social services reports, suspensions and the court's backlog. As a typical market estimate, not an official figure, a contested case usually takes months, and uncontested cases in quieter courts are quicker. Be sceptical of anyone promising a fixed number of weeks.

Eviction vs okupas: not the same problem

A tenant who stops paying is not an okupa. A tenant entered with a contract, so the landlord uses the civil desahucio described here. An okupa never had a right to be there, and the owner can use criminal complaints for allanamiento or usurpación, now in fast-track trials, or a separate civil claim to recover housing. Read our guide to okupas in Spain for that route.

Buying a tenanted property in Spain: what to check

If you buy a home with a tenant in it, you normally take over the lease. Under LAU art. 14.1 the buyer steps into the landlord's rights and obligations for the first five years of the lease, or seven if the seller was a company, even if the buyer relied on a clean Land Registry entry. For a longer agreed term, the buyer is bound for the full term unless they meet the Ley Hipotecaria art. 34 protection (the lease wasn't registered and the buyer acted in good faith); then the seller owes the tenant compensation for the lost years (LAU art. 14.2). So "we'll evict after completion" is rarely a plan.

1. Get the lease. Read the start date, term, rent, updates, who pays what, and any waiver of the tenant's purchase rights.
2. Check the tenant's right to buy first. Unless waived, the tenant has 30 calendar days from a formal notice of the sale, price and terms to buy the home at that price (tanteo), and a right to take over a completed sale if they weren't told (retracto) (LAU art. 25). The Registry won't register the sale without proof the notices were given (art. 25.5).
3. Check the deposit (fianza). The legal deposit is one month's rent for a home (LAU art. 36.1). Most regions require the landlord to lodge it with a regional deposit register. Ask for the lodging receipt, and agree in the deed how the deposit passes to you, because you'll owe it back to the tenant at the end.
4. Ask for proof of payment. Bank statements for recent rent, and whether any claim or notice is already running.
5. Check the nota simple for a registered lease or a note of a pending claim (anotación preventiva de demanda).
6. Price it in. A let home is a rental investment, not vacant possession. If you need it empty, make that a condition of the arras contract.

A property lawyer should review the lease and any court file before you pay a deposit. If you're buying to let, see our guide to investing in Spanish property and the tax on rental income for non-residents. And if you want a second look at a specific home, enter the address or referencia catastral in our property check and we'll reply by email.