Tenants give landlords a deposit
Whether renting a house or a business place, landlords ask tenants to give a certain deposit.
Renting a house: deposit of up to 1 month
In Spain, the Law on Rentals states that the deposit for renting a house should be 1 month’s rent. Landlords are not allowed to ask for more than that.
Nevertheless, in practice it is common that the landlord asks for an addiontal guarantee.
Renting a business palce: deposit of up to 2 months
In the case of stores, warehouses or other non-residential use rentals, the deposit should be 2 months’ rent. The landlord may not ask for more than that.
Deposit in the government agenct
The deposit should be given to the landlord at the time of signing the lease. It can be a transfer or a cash payment.
The main purpose of the deposit is to protect the landlord’s right to deduct the deposit as compensation if the house is damaged. If the property is not damaged at the end of the contract, then the landlord should return the deposit.
Likewise, if the tenant does not pay the rent, the landlord can deduct it from the deposit.
In order to ensure that the landlord can keep the deposit properly, the law currently requires the landlord to keep the deposit with a government agency for safekeeping.
It is the responsibility of the local authorities to keep the deposit, and each local authority has its own rules. For example, in Madrid, the deposit should be kept at the Agencia de Vivienda Social, and in Barcelona, it should be kept at the Incasol.
Additional guarantee
In addition to the common rental deposit, the landlord can also require the tenant to pay a certain amount of additional guarantee (garantía adicional). The main purpose of the the guarantee is to be used as an offset against the rent in case the tenant does not pay. The guarantee should also be returned to the tenant at the end of the contract.
The law states that for residential rentals, the security deposit should not exceed 2 months of rent. In the case of stores or business place, there is no upper limit, and the parties are free to negotiate.
Can the tenant use deposit to cover the rent? Copyright ©
Theoretically, it is not possible. By law, deposit must be returned by the landlord within one month after the tenant returns the keys, otherwise interest will accrue.
In many cases, the tenant is afraid that the landlord will not return the deposit after the keys are returned, so the tenant wants to use the deposit to offset the last month or two of rent. This is because the law clearly states that the deposit should be returned at the end of the contract and cannot be used to offset the rent.
