New Housing Decree in Spain: What Changes for Rents, Extensions, and Evictions

The Spanish Council of Ministers has approved a package of urgent measures focused on the housing market, aimed at regulating rental prices, enhancing lease stability, and strengthening the social safety net against evictions. Published officially in the Official State Gazette (Boletín Oficial del Estado – BOE) through Royal Decree-Law 26/2026 and complementary regulations passed in the same session, these provisions introduce substantial changes that directly impact both tenants and residential property owners.

The new framework aims to contain pricing pressure in stressed rental markets and provide greater legal certainty amid evolving property prices and the protection of vulnerable households.

What Changes for Tenants

The approved measures strengthen the position of renters through extraordinary permanence mechanisms and limits on rent revisions:

• Extraordinary Contract Extension: An extraordinary extension of up to two years is established for specific habitual residence contracts whose validity period ends before December 31, 2028. To qualify, the tenant must formally request it and be up to date with rent payments, as well as having been so for the preceding eight months.

• Cap on Annual Rent Updates: Until December 31, 2027, when annual rent updates are due, no increase will be applied if the current rent already exceeds the maximum limit set by the reference price index. If it does not exceed it, the increase cannot exceed 2% in the absence of an agreement between the parties.

• Regulation of Temporary Rentals: Room rentals and short-term or seasonal lease contracts must respond to a real, justified, and verifiable cause of temporality. If they lack this justification, the operation is legally subjected to the standard regime governing habitual residences.

What Changes for Property Owners

On the other hand, landlords and property owners must adapt to a framework that conditions property recovery and establishes new documentary and economic obligations:

• Reasons for Non-Renewal and Compensation: The regulatory framework strictly governs the conditions under which an owner can oppose contract renewals, requiring proof of regulated grounds—such as the need for personal or family use—or the assumption of indemnities in certain termination scenarios.

• Incentivos a la Oferta Asequible (Affordable Supply Incentives): The text is accompanied by fiscal measures and tools designed to mobilize properties toward the affordable housing stock, including reduced tax rates such as a 4% VAT rate for public housing promotions.

Quick Guide: Measures and Application

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

When do these measures enter into force?

Royal Decree-Law 26/2026 establishes its entry into force on October 1, 2026, the day following its publication in the Official State Gazette (BOE). In accordance with constitutional procedures, the regulation must subsequently be submitted to the Spanish Congress of Deputies for validation or repeal.

Are all rental prices universally frozen?

No. The regulations do not establish a universal 0% reduction or freeze for all contracts. The 0% cap applies exclusively on a temporary basis—until the end of 2027—in cases where the rent exceeds the maximum limits established by the state reference index system. If it does not exceed them, the update cap is 2% if there is no prior agreement between the parties.

What happens if a temporary rental contract fails to justify its temporality?

If a room or seasonal rental contract is formalized without a real, proven, and verifiable cause justifying its temporary nature (such as temporary work reasons, studies, or medical treatments), the agreement may be subjected to the rules of the Urban Tenancies Act (LAU) applicable to habitual housing.

Official Sources

• Ministry of Housing and Urban Agenda — Council of Ministers Reference from September 29, 2026, on urgent housing measures — La Moncloa

• Official State Gazette (BOE) — Royal Decree-Law 26/2026, of September 29, on urgent measures for the protection of the social function of housing and the expansion of affordable housing supply — BOE